


Date A Live: Fractured Being

by Kurukaze



Category: Date A Live
Genre: Action, Drama, F/M, Multi, Romance, Tasteful AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23444239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kurukaze/pseuds/Kurukaze
Summary: "The last Spirit? That's what you're calling yourself, now?" The first Spirit looked the girl up and down. "Don't you think you've grown a little big for your boots? Compared to me, you are nothing." - "You can think whatever you want, but, mark my words: it will all end with me. All the suffering you've caused ends today." The girl grit her teeth. "I can promise you that."-Crossposted from FFN
Kudos: 2





	1. Samanya Greenson

**Author's Note:**

> This is a reboot of another story of mine, Date A Live: Samanya's Story. It has since been discontinued in favour of this new version, but I will post the old work for posterity. 
> 
> Even if you haven't read that old one, or watched the Anime/read the light novel, I thoroughly believe you can still get the most out of this story!

-Chapter 1, Samanya Greenson

The setting was one of brown and green, flat and dull in its appearance, like a painter had laid out the background on his giant canvas, but then had gotten bored and left it to its own devices. The plains housed little flora, and even less fauna. There were no defining features. No unique wildlife or intriguing vegetation to call its own. Nothing. Nothing except for the odd flower that a butterfly might perch atop.

In the middle of the Eurasian continent, with no landmarks and a total lack of civilisation, the yet-unnamed expanse stood without a second look from anyone.

Not, then, where you'd expect the single largest and most devastating natural disaster the world had ever seen would stem from.

But, of course, things never do go exactly how one would expect.

First came the tremors. The ground shook under an invisible force. Shock-waves emanating from an unseeable point just above ground. The butterfly took off into the sky as the flower's stem snapped, but it was too late to save itself from what came next.

A...rift. That would be the closest thing that comes to describing it. A rift between a dimension that is ours, and one that very much is not. It was a swirling mass of purple and black. A hemisphere of darkness that erupted from that same invisible space. It expanded outwards, swallowing the ground whole as it grew and grew and grew. The butterfly fled, but it too was absorbed into it's unrelenting expansion. Before long, it reached what those plains were lacking. Trees, animals, people and cities were lost to its clutches, and as the terrible force finally subsided, and the dark orb had stopped devouring everything in its path, it had killed one-hundred-and-fifty million innocents in the blink of an eye, just like that.

Did the orb care? Of course not. It couldn't care. It could only destroy, regardless of the whims of its creator.

Seen from space, the rift covered an enormous area. Superimposed over the USA or China, and those countries would have been wiped from the map without a trace. Superimposed over Europe, and it'd be impossible to even tell there had once been a sprawling unity of societies there. Almost fortunate, then, that it had started in such a barren place.

What would later be named as 'The Eurasian Sky Disaster' was the closest humanity had ever been to an extinction level event, and it had all been brought upon by one being. One singular entity.

The first Spirit.

Not too much is known about it, but…

* * *

"...but it's dangerous. Very dangerous, and we know it's still out there somewhere. Any questions?" The red-haired girl with the long twintails finished talking and looked to the only other person in the room: another girl, this time with messy, tomboyish hair, cut somewhat short and dyed a bright cyan.

The second girl answered, "You said 'the first Spirit'. Does that mean there are others?"

"Yep! And that's what we're dealing with here. Let me tell you what you specifically will be doing."

The second girl sat eagerly as the first girl switched the slideshow to another one, and as the wall was decorated in a new set of words and images, she took out her pencil and prepared to-

* * *

"Boo!"

Samanya jolted back to reality from the memory of that first meeting all those months ago as her friend lightly punched her arm. "Hey! What was that for?" She demanded as she looked up from her spot at the bench.

The boy sat down beside her on the wooden seat and stared off into the same sunset that Sam had been gazing at during her daydream. "Well, you were sat there all spaced out and stuff. Looked like you could use a buddy." He turned and flashed a big grin at her, closing his hazel eyes and showing off his white teeth.

Sam rolled her uninterested emerald eyes at him and brushed her brilliantly blue hair away from her face, then leant into the backrest. "It's been a pretty long day, you know?"

"Oh? What was it this time?"

"More combat training. I still don't get why I'm the one doing it. I made the suit, sure, but I'm hardly built for combat." Sam admired her slim arms, exposed from the sleeves of her grey T-shirt down.

"Putting you through it all again, huh?"

"Yup."

The boy also leant back and relaxed, the cool wind slowly blowing through the evening air. It was unusually warm for spring at this time, but neither of them were complaining about the refreshing change in temperature from the absolutely dismal winter a month before. Behind them, a road with quite a steep incline stretched upwards into the hills and downwards towards the city. Tenguu city. It had been built inside a crater, with the main city standing proud in the centre of the bowl as the more rural estates ran along the hilly terrain all around it. Its highest point easily towered above the skyscrapers of the inner city.

This was thirty years after The Eurasian Sky Disaster, and peace had finally returned. The mourning would never cease for those affected, but the big picture had started to heal, albeit slowly.

"Hey, Hinata," Sam started.

The boy groaned. "Uh-oh. Whenever you use my full name I get scared."

"Listen," she sighed, "you're the only person who knows what I do, okay? Very few people even know Ratatoskr exists, let alone what I do there, so you cannot tell anyone."

"Yeah, I know. You've told me that a thousand times. You don't need to address me as 'Hinata'." He made a gesture of disdain at his name.

"Right, sorry, Nat."

"See? Much better."

"But still, it'll get me and you into a lot of trouble if anyone else finds out."

"I know, I know." Nat waved it off with a disarming smile, implying that Sam should let go of any worries that her secret would get out.

"Alright, thanks," she said as she got up and massaged her hands. It was getting a little chilly now, and she had things she needed to do and work she needed to catch up on.

"You off?" Nat asked as he stood up too.

"Yeah, got some crap I need to sort through." She rubbed her head to try and soothe the headache that was coming on and replaced her glasses on her small, freckled nose. The frame was a little crooked, but they were okay for now.

"C-Can I walk you back?" he hesitated.

"Sure, I'd like that," she replied, holding out her hand.

Nat took it in his and started down the road towards the twinkling lights below, Sam by his side, her arm against his. She enjoyed this. His touch against hers. His smell filling her senses and his warmth just near enough to steal for herself on a night like this. She wanted so badly to be more, but she knew she couldn't. It would complicate things beyond belief, so she bottled it up. It hurt her to lie to him whenever he hinted at it, but she had to. She had to protect him.

Soon, though, she'd have a lot more to protect than just one boy…

* * *

Sam exerted her body and her armour to the absolute extremes of both as she bobbed, weaved and dashed through the 'gymnasium'. She called it that, although you'd be hard-pressed to find another gym that shot real bullets at you. At the sound of one such gunshot, she jumped up into the air and pirouetted around the stream of hot lead. In the same swift motion, a jet of plasma leapt out from her hands and instantly melted the weapon.

"Careful! You're using too much power again! Just disable them!"

Sam cursed inwardly at that as she landed, before setting off down the course to the last obstacle. The track had been relatively simple so far, with just some basic reaction and reflex training, so she wondered what this last activity would be as she raced along the track. Although, as she approached, she didn't see anything at all. She stepped into the 'clearing' with the walls surrounding her. She could easily scale them, but that wasn't the point of the exercise.

"Okay, so, this is the last test for today, and you might have noticed that there's nothing there yet." The voice came over the speaker system loud-and-clear. A man's voice Sam knew very well.

"Kannazuke, stop playing around and just show me already."

"All right, Sam. If you're just going to ignore my introduction, and be like that, then fine." Kannazuke sounded upset, but Sam brushed it off, and turned her attention to the metal pedestal slowly rising up into the room. Upon it sat…

"An egg?" Sam queried, her head cocked.

"Yes, an egg. Pick it up."

She looked up at the one-way mirror in the corner of the huge hall, where she knew he would be watching her. "You sure? Is it going to explode?"

"It's just a normal egg, Sam, so pick it up."

Groaning and murmuring, Sam reluctantly picked up the egg. "I've done it. Can I go home now?"

"Not yet. Now..." he trailed off as the entire room started to echo with loud grinding and scraping noises. Somewhere beneath the floor, gears were turning, but Sam still couldn't figure out what the hell an egg had to do with all of this.

She waited for the noise to stop before speaking again. "You done?"

A laugh came over the speakers, followed simply by a sharp, abrupt, "Dodge!"

"Do-" Sam was cut off by the large spike that had fallen from the ceiling just in front of her, and as she looked up, she saw how many more there were. The sudden shock had also had another effect, and as she looked at the palm of her hand, the egg was now no more than a crushed mess. "Oh, I see where this is going now." She wiped the sticky goop off of her gloves and knocked the shell away from where it had exploded all over her legs, before stalking back to the pedestal, retrieving another egg, and listening to the command that she worried she was going to be sick of by the end of the day.

"Dodge!"

* * *

After twenty-two attempts at that stupid test, Sam was allowed to go home. She stripped down and jumped in the shower, leaving the black bodysuit she wore under her armour carelessly discarded just outside the cubicle. She washed the sweat and egg white off of her body as the hot water overwhelmed her. It scalded slightly, but if Sam was being honest, it couldn't get hot enough. It felt so good after a long day of training and getting shouted at, so she let it run as long as possible, allowing it plenty of time to soak into her skin. Eventually, though, she picked up the bottle of shampoo and rubbed it into her scalp. She thoroughly cleaned her greasy hair until it would be fluffy and soft like she was used to having it.

"Hmm, maybe I should grow it long." Sam imagined what she'd look like with long, blue hair, flowing down to the middle of her back. She almost liked the sound of it, but figured it would probably just get in the way. And it would take ages to dye, of course.

Stepping out of the shower and covering herself in a towel, she meandered through her apartment to her room, where she collapsed onto the bed and landed in a heap. She held a hand up to her forehead and drew in a deep breath, before letting it out through her lips and sinking a little further into the mattress.

"God, I'm much more tired than usual, I swear," she said to herself aloud. "I can't think of why though. I haven't been pushing myself _that_ hard. Have I? I can't remember."

She got up and dried herself off, before throwing her towel onto the floor, ignoring the washing basket that sat mostly-unused against the cream dresser.

Ten minutes later and dressed in skinny, waist-high jeans and a black crop-top, she left her flat, locked the front door, and took the lift down to the ground floor, intent on making it up to her own personal spot before the fireworks ended. The sun had long set, but she made her way just fine with the abundant light of the bustling city that she had recently grown to call home.

The train took her almost all the way up the mountainous bowl, but she still had some climbing to do until she finally made it. When she finally did, though, it was always worth it. It offered an unparalleled view of the starry sky. She looked out over the iron railings from the outcropping high above the city and smiled as brilliant lights and colours filled the night. The crackle-pop of those streaking rockets pleased her to no end, and she knew that tens-of-thousands more would be gazing at them, just like her. They mixed and blurred together. Separate patterns becoming one. One constant noise of joy.

Then, a new colour; purple.

A new pattern; spherical.

A new noise; a warning.

Sam gasped. "Nat!"

Then she ran.

A spacial quake was ripping through the city.

* * *

Nat looked up at the looming violet abyss as it neared him, destroying all unlucky enough to enter its path of terror. It stopped for nothing, just like his closest friend had said. It simply swallowed and swallowed and swallowed. And it would soon swallow him if he didn't move.

But he was frozen. Frozen with fear and pressure. His feet were leaden.

And all he could do was scream.

"SAM!"

...she'd have the world.


	2. Princess

-Chapter 2, Princess

Thirty seconds and some arguably dangerous overrides later, Sam hurtled towards Tenguu city, the wings of her suit glowing bright blue as her thrusters were pushed up to eleven.

"Sam, you're approaching the speed of sound. Slow down or you'll lose control!"

"Kannazuke, it's fine!" Sam had to shout as loud as she could over the rushing wind for the earpiece to pick up her speech.

"Fine? You're sure about that? The fastest you've tested this thing was just over two-hundred miles-per-hour."

"Yeah, but I _built_ it to be able to withstand a thousand!"

Kannazuke, high up aboard the Fraxinus' bridge, looked towards his commander, but the girl nodded back and waved him on. "Alright, continue as you are."

"Thank you." If it hadn't been for the adrenaline and the horrible twisting feeling in her stomach, Sam very much wouldn't have been going this fast, but she had to get to Nat, and she had to do it fast.

"Altitude is at three-thousand feet and falling quickly," Kannazuke read out from the monitor's screen in front of him.

"What's the status on the quake?" Sam responded.

"Expansion is at eighty-five percent, but the rate is starting to slow. Origin is somewhere down-town."

_"Down-town?"_ Sam thought, _"Nat lives near the station, nowhere near that. Then why am I so damn worried?"_

"Energy signatures match Princess," he said, plainly.

"Princess?! Remind me!"

"Big sword."

"Oh yeah." Sam easily remembered the Spirit's file after that.

"Two-hundred feet!"

"On it!" Sam slammed open her air-brakes and her wings folded out fully at her side, causing such a sudden increase in drag that Sam was almost caught off-guard as she slowed. "Woah!"

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, but I don't think the suit liked it."

"Wouldn't seem like it, turbine two is out of action. The fans are completely sheared."

"Wait, you're joking, right?"

But he wasn't joking, and a second later, Sam felt it. Her left wing completely gave out and flapped uselessly and lifeless as she dropped. "Damn it! Kannazuke, I'm jettisoning the whole array. Get ready to transmit it back to the ship once I'm free."

"Acknowledged."

"First time going out in this thing and it bloody breaks," Sam grumbled to herself as she looked over her shoulder and confirmed that it was, in fact, totally disabled. "Right, releasing in five! Four! Three! Two! One!" The wings shot away from Sam's back, then were teleported away almost an instant later.

Now wingless, Sam plummeted to the ground towards the rapidly-retracting spacial quake. The crater it left was huge, at least a half-mile in diameter and several stories deep, but even that was nothing compared to the creature that would appear within.

"Retrieval successful; time to test the shock absorbers then?"

"Looks like it!" Sam locked her eyes shut as she crashed into the ground, her armour absorbing most of the impact and her legs absorbing what they could of the rest, but she didn't look up until her breath had returned to her. The landing had still winded her. "Okay…I'm down. Has Princess…appeared yet?" She drew in deep, long heaves as she peered out from behind the dust cloud that had been thrown up all around her.

"Not yet," Kannazuke replied, "but she will soon."

"Great." Sam took off at a run and made her way down the edge of the crater, shouting out her friend's name as she went. "Nat! Nat! _Nat!_ Where are you?"

At first, the silence reassured her. It told her that he wasn't here, and that he was safe. That she had nothing to worry about except for the job at hand and that the dread looming over her was just her imagination, but soon that feeling took hold of her stomach again and twisted that silence into something more sinister; something more deadly.

Maybe she was too late. Maybe he was already dead.

She shook her head with frustration. No. She wouldn't believe that. "Nat, where are you?!" Crying out in what she hoped wasn't vain, she continued her search. She felt the wind picking up again. She knew Princess would soon appear, but that wasn't important to her right now.

"S-Sam…?"

A weak voice met her ears just barely, and she turned towards it. "Nat?"

"I'm here…"

"Nat!" Sam's eyes darted around, trying to locate her friend amidst the rubble and wreckage that hadn't been warped to whatever dimension the Spirits come from.

At last, she found him, trapped under a block of concrete beneath one of the many destroyed buildings that loosely lined the perimeter of the crater. It may have once been a block of flats at one point, but now it was unrecognizable, lost to its fate.

"Sam, you came…" Nat's face was ashen white and his breathing was shallow and irregular, but he still managed the faintest ghost of a smile as he looked up at his own guardian angel.

The smile managed to put Sam a little at ease and quell her hammering heart, so she smiled back. "Nat, why the hell are you even here?"

"I'll tell you…all about it later. Just get me out of here," he got out before coughing meekly.

"Right, right." Sam bent down to pick Nat up, but before she could, a sharp pain lashed across her back like a whip and threw her down onto her friend, where she only narrowly avoided crushing him by thrusting her hand out to stop her fall. "Ah, give me a second," she grunted as she turned to face her assailant.

"Be quick…" Nat let out as he closed his eyes.

A girl stood before Sam, dressed in brilliant armour plating. It was purple, with yellow highlights and black accents, and covered the girl's body almost entirely, with the exception of her head, the front of her collarbone and her upper arms. Around her torso she wore a corset, decorated with gold ornaments and a black bow at the top. Her spalders were rounded whereas her gauntlets and skirt were more jagged. From out of the skirt a pink fabric, no doubt imbued with her magic and glowing its colour with passion, billowed out and covered her legs. It was impossible to see if she wore anything beneath the skirt, apart from the black boots that peeked out.

Her hair was a plum violet in colour, and fell down all the way to her thighs. Her narrowed eyes were a brighter hue, but still purple, and shone with the power of the quake itself. A purple-and-yellow ribbon adorned itself on top of her head.

Finally, locked in the grasp of her two gloved hands, was an awesome broadsword – similarly ornamented. She wielded the weapon with ease, and as she stared at Sam, a grimace played across her mouth and she swung with great strength. A slice of pink energy leapt forward in an arc and sped towards its target, but this time, the target was ready.

Sam swung her right hand down as a blade of blue plasma materialized from her forearm and cut through the arc, splitting it in two and destroying it. She may have never fought an actual Spirit, but she had trained to extensively.

"Yep, that's her," she said, grinning and retracting her weapon.

"Well, you've already put up a better fight than everyone else," the purple-haired girl spat.

Sam strode purposefully forward towards 'Princess' and replied, "I'll take that as a compliment." before coming to a stop about ten feet from her. She held almost a foot over her opponent, but was quite similar in body shape apart from that.

"Hmph, that attitude won't get you anywhere when I draw your blood upon my blade." At this, she readied that very blade and brandished it with confidence.

Sam took up the offer and readied herself, activating both of her plasma swords and bending her knees. "Bring it on."

"Your funeral."

Princess sped forwards, using her magic to propel herself just above the ground, kicking up dust as she gained speed. She brought the sword down on top of Sam in a powerful motion, but Sam pirouetted out of harm's way and kicked the Spirit back, then followed that up with a barrage of energy and light. Princess leapt up and over the assault, slicing into thin air and sending her own barrage of projectiles towards the other, but again these didn't manage to connect, and only exploded into the ground.

Now both skyward-bound, the Spirit rushed Sam down, swinging erratically and angrily. The blows were poorly aimed, and Sam easily dodged between despite being severely handicapped in the air. However, as Princess became angrier, and struck with newfound ferocity, her swipes became much faster, and one particularly broad swing kicked Samanya to the curb. She bounced up off the ground and landed on her feet, skidding backwards as the Spirit floated back down to ground level.

Sam wiped a speck of blood from her mouth and grinned. "You fight better than the training hall, that's for sure!"

"What? Do you think this is just a joke?" Princess growled.

"No, not really," came Sam's reply as she stretched her back and worked her neck, "but I'm not even trying yet."

"The last minute would beg to differ."

"Oh I like you!" Sam rubbed her hands as the dusk air started to chill her, penetrating further through her armour than any of Princess's attacks really have, then she charged, lighting Princess up with a rapid-fire of plasma bolts. These were deflected easily, but on the ground, Sam outpaced Princess by quite a margin. She bobbed left and right, running circles around the Spirit, dodging or blocking any attack that came her way and returning it with twice as many. Still, the Spirit's guard was incredible, and Sam only managed to open her up after a meaty swing missed by a hair's breadth. Now off-balance, Princess could only brace as a punch sent her flying.

"Trust me, the feeling's not mutual." She retorted as she clambered back up onto her feet. Her mouth, unlike Sam's, didn't show any eagerness for more, but appeared much more reserved and tight-lipped. It was as if she was doing her best to hide her true emotions and intentions.

The sentence seemed to give Sam pause, so she quickly spoke a question into her earpiece. "Kannazuke, how _are_ we looking?" she whispered.

Kannazuke looked up from the monitor on his desk and up at the view screen that filled the entire far wall. Splayed all over it were various graphs, charts and statistics, all monitoring the target's mood, affection (which _was_ especially low for Sam) and other vital information. One of which, oddly, was respect. "Well, she definitely doesn't like you, but you _have_ gained her respect. Somehow."

"Ha-ha! Knew it!" She cheered as she heard exactly what she wanted to hear.

"Knew what?" Princess demanded.

"Nothing," Sam replied in a sing-song voice.

"Well, if you're done talking to yourself, maybe we can finish this _before_ your friends get here."

"My friends?"

"You know them, I know you do. You look exactly like them!" She gestured at Sam's armour. "All you people do is try to kill me. I haven't done a single thing to anyone, and yet you all want me dead!" Her voice was struggling to contain the rage welling up in her throat, despite her efforts just before.

"Sir?"

"She could be referring to the AST. Your armour, to the untrained eye, is similar," he replied, adjusting his glasses.

_"Oh crap, I can't believe I forgot about them!"_

* * *

"The AST, or Anti-Spirit Team, are a product of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, and solely exist to eliminate the Spirits."

"By killing them?" Sam remembered querying.

"Yes. Unlike us, they attempt a far more violent method, and because of this, their weapons and armour are on par with your own."

"Wow, really?"

The red-haired girl nodded. "In the right hands, yes."

"That's pretty scary."

"Mmm, worse for the Spirit though. Imagine being brought into a world only to be attacked and hurt. Have your very existence despised by everyone you meet."

"That…that sounds terrible."

"It is."

* * *

Blinking herself out of the flashback, Sam sighed and looked towards the Spirit. "I'm…I'm sorry."

Startled, Princess froze for a moment. "What?"

"I'm sorry. I'm not with them. I don't fight to kill. Not like them." Sam's head drooped. Coming here had been a mistake. She had gotten so caught up in the thrill…

The purple-haired girl, bemused and shocked, stared at Sam. There was a new feeling. Warmer than anything she'd felt before. She enjoyed it; it felt nice to her, so she took one step towards the apologetic girl, then another. "Then why are you here? Everyone wants my life ended."

Sam lifted her chin and tilted her head up. Her bright green eyes met Princess's purple ones. She took a deep breath. "I-"

The ground erupted once more with explosions; the evening sky painted over with yellow and orange and black. Dark and destructive hues that clouded the two fighters. The deafening cacophony of hell-fire pierced Sam's ears and the unrelenting pain made her cry out.

The AST continued their assault, levelling the earth with bullets and missiles, not caring that someone else had been caught in the line of fire.

"That was a cheap shot!" Princess roared as she sprung out of the smoke and made a bee-line for the closest member.

The girl's eyes widened and she threw her hands up in front of her, but the sudden appearance of a field of green energy protected her, and stopped the impressive hunk of metal mid-swing.

Princess growled and kept attacking the girl, before being driven back to firmer footing by her squad-mates' supporting fire. She landed next to the newly-recovered Sam, and glared up at the AST. Their armour _was_ close to Sam's, but painted a slate grey instead of her cherry red and bleached white. It also offered higher mobility at the cost of lower resistance, but the suit's 'territory' made up for that. A powerful tool that utilized the magical energy the armour ran off of. It could bolster one's defence, assist aim and even cancel inertia and momentum. Also built into the suit was a thruster array, like Sam's wings, but they were far less complex and only provided one jet per wing.

Still, at least they had them, unlike Sam right now.

"Hey, if you want to prove what you say is true, now's your chance," Princess stated.

Invigorated and a little ticked off, Sam clenched her fists and nodded. "You got it. On three."

"One."

"Two."

"Three!" Both of them together rushed the AST down, hurling projectiles as they closed the gap. Sam winced as she got left behind in the air, but after a hasty brawl, she managed to draw a couple down with her, and now on fairer terms, Sam outmatched the two with ease. "Come on! That all you got?" she challenged as she jumped over a sweeping blow from one of the pair's laser sword. Sam drove her fist into her foe's green, dome-like shield, visibly cracking it, and then shattering it totally with a vicious kick, accelerated by the rocket boosters in her calf and thigh.

Meanwhile, Princess took on at least six at once in the air, flying with far more fluidity than any of the AST could have dreamed of. She dispatched three of them quickly, leaving them scared and retreating, before turning her attention to the rest. "You can't beat me. You must know that by now."

Now with only four members left able to fight, the rest injured or routing, the IC of the squad, a brown-haired girl in her twenties, called a full retreat. "Everyone! Get back here now, and those that can't, we'll come to you. Either way, I'm not letting any of you get slaughtered!"

"Yes, ma'am!" came the chorus of replies, all in different tones – some angry, some exhausted and some fearful.

Then, the IC turned her glare to Sam. "I don't know who you are, civilian, or where you got that armour, but you better not cross me again, or God help me."

Smugly, Sam gave her a two-finger salute, before watching as the girl she drove into the dirt was picked up by her friend and carried off, and retracted her blades once more, a proud smile on her face. "I'd say that was a success, wouldn't you, sir?"

"So it would seem." Kannazuke leant back into his chair, put his arms up behind his head and stretched. The whole ordeal had taken little over ten minutes, from the initial signs of the quake to the AST beating a fast retreat. He had to admit, that wasn't bad for Sam's first proper mission, but then again, why wouldn't it be? He'd seen just what Sam was capable of for himself a long time ago.

With the threat removed, Sam ran over to Nat to check on him. He was unconscious, but still drawing a steady breath, which was relieving, to say the least. Sam picked him up and carried him in her arms as she walked back over to where Princess was, sticking her tongue out at the Spirit's stare.

"Who is that?" she asked.

"Hinata. He's my best friend. He got caught in the blast," Sam replied.

"The blast? Just now?" Princess cocked her head.

"No, no. Before that. When you appeared."

"When I appeared?"

Sam stopped and frowned. "You don't know?"

Princess also frowned. "Know what?"

Her mouth dropped open, and it took her a second to regain her composure. She pointed around them. "This. All of this. It all occurs when you arrive in our world."

This startled the girl, and now with a different lens, she looked around at the destruction wrought be her arrival. "I caused this?"

"Yes, you did. Did you not mean to?"

"No!" Princess quickly responded, recoiling a little. "But, I think I understand why your people hate me so much, if this is what I cause…" her eyes flitted towards the boy in Sam's arms as she spoke. "I did that too, didn't I?"

Reluctantly, Sam nodded. "Yeah, you did. He'll be fine, don't worry…" She trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"I…I'm sorry."

"Look," Sam carefully slung Nat over her shoulder and squeezed Princess's, "I don't hold it against you for hurting my friend. You said you had no want to, and I believe it. Call me naive, but I can't see a reason why you would lie."

She eased her gaze upwards to meet Sam's. "Why don't you hate me?"

Sam gave that one some thought, but eventually came to the conclusion of, "I guess I have no reason to. You hurt people, but not because you want to, because you sometimes can't do otherwise. I hurt people sometimes, but only because I believe what I'm doing is right. You and me…we may be more like each other than either us are willing to admit."

Shining with aspiration in those violet eyes, the Spirit nodded. "Thank you. This is the first time I've been able to have a conversation with a human."

"No problem!" Sam grinned big, and in return, Princess flashed the slightest smile Sam had ever seen, but it was enough. "See? We're practically best buddies now!"

"I guess so."

* * *

Their conversation had lasted longer than either of them had expected, but after enough time had passed, the girl was whisked away back to her own dimension, leaving Sam and Nat in the crater alone, the latter of which was conscious again, and doing surprisingly well for all that he'd been through. But, with dusk becoming dark, twilight becoming night, they began walking away from the encounter, and made their way back to Sam's home. She'd worry about her report in the morning, because right now, exhaustion had caught up to her, and she needed to sleep. She had offered several times on their walk to take Nat to the hospital, but each time he had refused, saying he didn't feel that bad. Sam was jealous, because she sure as hell felt like death.

Finally, they reached her front door, and as Sam was about to turn the key in the lock, letting them both in to her apartment and out of the cold, Nat forced her to look at him.

He smiled his familiar, easy smile and said, "You've got a lot of explaining to do, Sammy, but for now, I don't care. I'm just so happy you came to save me."

Then, without giving Sam time to reply, Nat surged forwards and kissed her deeply.

Sam's breath hitched in her throat as it happened, but before she could pull away, her body acted on it's own, and so she kissed back, grasping at Nat's straight, jet-black hair with one hand and holding him close to her with the other.

And just like that, the rest of the night drifted dreamily away.


	3. The beginning

-Chapter 3, The beginning

Sam gritted her teeth and dug in with her heels as her beam struggled against the figure's. She channelled it straight from her body, despite being able to feel the weight of her armour upon her. It was also red in colour. A sickly crimson battling the pure white that she was confronted with. She was also aware that her hair had become that same colour, and that she was shrouded in furious flames, the very embodiment of her rage. She screamed out as the beams pushed against each other, mirroring their firer's will and power.

"You're nothing, Sam!" the figure shouted, but it was if it came from within Sam's own mind when she heard it. "I am a _God!_ You're nothing but a patchwork of failings! You steal my power as if it was your own! You are **_Powerless!_** "

The white beam doubled in force and size, and pushed Sam's back all the way to the cusp of her hands. There was only the faintest glimmer of red now between her and oblivion. She tried to push back, but no matter what, she couldn't draw upon anything more. This was her limit. She had been pushed to the edge of her being, and she was about to be pushed past it.

"You failed, Samanya! You never should have even existed! Now… ** _Die!_** "

Whiteness overtook her body.

She had let everyone down.

She had failed.

* * *

Sam threw herself awake as sweat poured down her face and body. All over her skin, tiny, impossible sharp needles, laced with salt, punctured her skin. She screamed again, the pain too much too bear. She lashed out and thrashed wildly, desperate above all else for it all to stop; for the torture and torment to end.

"Sam!"

The voice came from her right, and the face it belonged to, she had never been so happy to see.

"Nat…"

Nat looked at her, a worried expression on his face. "Nightmares again?"

She sat up and nodded guiltily, taking responsibility for ruining the boy's sleep. "Same one."

Nat, too, sat up and put his arm around her. It had been three weeks since they had both met Princess for the first time, and since then, this had been a regular occurrence. The first night, Sam had been alone, but after that, she had insisted they slept together. Unfortunately, It hadn't made the nightmares go away, but it helped to reassure her as soon as she woke up. "It's alright, I'm here."

Sam leant into him. "Thank you…" she whispered, the words scarcely making it out of her mouth.

The alarm clock by their bed, displaying the time in a soft red, showed:

**03:23 April 10th**

Sam sighed as she saw this. "I feel so bad for you."

But Nat simply shook his head. "Please don't. I'm doing this because I love you, not because I have to, so you don't have to worry about that kind of stuff."

Sam smiled and kissed his cheek, before snuggling into his chest. "I love you too."

Nat stroked her hair, running his fingers through her blue locks. "Now come on, get some sleep."

* * *

When she woke up again, she felt around for Nat, but quickly, and to her dismay, discovered that she was alone, except for the sun now poking through the curtains and the fresh clothes she was wrapped up in, as well as the blanket that cosily smothered her. Had he changed her pyjamas while she was asleep? She fumbled for her glasses and set them down on her petite nose, before asking the emptiness his name.

A simple "I'm here." came in from the kitchen, along with a waft of something absolutely delicious, which Sam immediately started drooling at as she sniffed hungrily.

"Oh man, that smells good! What is it?" she called out.

"Waffles," was the reply.

"Waffles! Ahhh!" Sam did what basically amounted to hurling herself into the kitchen with excitement as she heard the name of the treat, and looked to Nat with puppy-dog eyes as she fell into the room. "Gimme!"

Rolling his eyes, Nat opened the oven door. Inside, stacked like a perfect, golden-brown pile, were ten pristine waffles. The girl's mouth dropped open in surprise at how good they looked. "Now go sit at the table and stop embarrassing yourself."

She eagerly nodded and hopped up onto one of the chairs. Her kitchen was pretty small for two people, and the table tucked away into the corner was barely large enough for them both. Sam had no idea where Nat had gotten the other chair from, too. She'd only ever had one before a few days ago. On the wall above Nat's head hung a television. On it, a news channel was reporting on the spacial quake from a few days ago. Sam recalled it vividly, and seeing that purple sphere again sparked a brief memory of the conversation her and Princess had had, before getting violently interrupted by the AST, but this time, Sam had managed to save her wings on the approach, and thus the skirmish was over laughably quickly. _"So much for being on par with my armour,"_ she had thought.

Ignoring the television, the room was quite sparsely decorated. Just an ordinary, perfectly-functional kitchen.

Apart from the dishwasher. That didn't work.

On the waffle front, Sam had covered in hers with just about everything: butter, syrup, chocolate spread, ice cream, whipped cream and cinnamon. Nat, however, was gunning for a much more reserved approach, with just some strawberries and chocolate.

"Mmm, thee are weally goo-!" Sam applauded with her mouth stuffed full.

Nat shook his head. "Sam, swallow."

Sam's cheeks flushed red and she quickly gulped down. "Right, right, sorry! I said that it's really good!"

He smiled. "It sure is, if I don't say so myself. Now come on, we're going to be late for work."

She checked her watch to confirm this, and yep, he was right. "Okay, I'll sort the dishes out, so you go and get ready, and tell Kotori we'll be there soon."

"You got it."

They stood up and shared a tender kiss, before Nat walked off to the shower and Sam attended to their plates, happily humming a tune to herself, the dream dissipating from her memory entirely.

* * *

"What do you mean she's not here?" Sam asked, hips cocked out to the side.

"She went to school," Kannazuke said with a shrug. "That's all I know."

Sam huffed and rolled her eyes. "Of course."

"Also, I'm not sure exactly how she feels about our newest... _recruit_ ," he added.

Hinata chuckled when Sam flared up at that. "We really didn't have a choice, remember? So stop being so…" she fought to find the right word, but after a few seconds, nothing came up, so she just let the sentence float away.

Nat stepped forward to fill the gap anyway. "Sir, I appreciate I have very little experience in anything like this, but I know Sam better than anyone, and I also know how to stay out of people's way. I'd really really like to work with Sam here! Not knowing what she does for so long has been killing me."

"Yeah, what he said," Sam chimed in.

" _And_ I am the second person to ever talk to a Spirit."

Kannazuke rubbed the bridge of his nose and thought for a long while, before reluctantly agreeing at last.

"Yay!" Sam cheered and hugged her boyfriend. "See? I told you I'd convince him."

"Well, I'm fairly sure _I_ convinced him," he replied, rubbing Sam's head.

"Yeah, yeah, sure." Sam brushed him off with a sly smile and turned her attention back to her senior. "So, why's Kotori in school today?"

Kannazuke picked up one of their red earpieces and handed it to her. "Why don't you ask her for yourself? She's already connected."

Sam and Nat looked at each other, both wearing surprised faces, before she fastened the earpiece in her ear and tapped it twice. "Kotori?"

The red-headed girl on the other end of the line, her hair split into two long twin-tails by two white ribbons, sucked on her lollipop as she answered, "Yep. How are you, Sam?"

"Yeah, I'm alright... I wanted to ask why you were going to school today," she said as she sat down on Kannazuke's desk and folded one leg over the other.

"Well, there's no particular reason, and I'll be back pretty soon, but I thought I'd keep my brother from getting too suspicious. I think he's starting to catch on about the other days I keep missing." Inside the Chemistry department's preparation room, the only light coming from a small laptop's screen set up on one of the tables, a lady that looked to be in her thirties, dressed in a lab coat with a small blue teddy bear tucked into her breast pocket, sat at the laptop and worked away while Kotori was talking. "Why do you ask?"

Sighing, Sam handed the earpiece to Hinata. "Here."

Nat placed the small device and cleared his throat. "It's Hinata. We met a little while ago."

"Ah, yes, Sam's boyfriend. You wanted to join Ratatoskr, correct?"

Nat, cheeks slightly colouring, nodded, even though he knew there was obviously no way Kotori could have seen it. "Yes. I'm the second person to talk to Princess, after all, and I'd like to help her any way I can. Sam told me this would be the best - and possibly only - way."

Kotori rolled the candy around her tongue, then said, "Sure, you can join."

Nat was taken aback. "R-Really? Just like that?"

"Sure, why not? You said it yourself."

Nat quickly regained composure, replied, "Thank you, Itsuka. It will be a pleasure." then quickly took out the device and put it down onto the desk beside Sam.

She smiled and lightly punched his shoulder. "Already addressing her by surname, huh? Good job." Then, she turned towards Kannazuke once more. "May we be excused, sir?"

He waved them off, before getting up and walking away down one of the halls, hands thrust into his pockets and eyes staring at his steps. The other officers aboard the bridge watched him go, before getting back to their duties.

"Sweet, I guess we've got the place to ourselves then! Come on, I'll give you the tour."

Nat followed Sam down the other hallway leading out of the bridge, and with her help, he explored every inch of Ratatoskr's airship, The Fraxinus.

* * *

Shido Itsuka sprinted down the street, moving as fast as his legs would permit. His little sister _had_ said that she'd be at that diner, even if a spacial quake hit, before school today. She had said that, hadn't she? _"Damnit Kotori! Of all the days to make a stupid promise like that!"_ He skidded around the corner of a block, and his time living in Tenguu city told him he was on the right street. The diner should be just up ahead…

The warning sirens were suddenly drowned out by something even more awful. An ear-shattering explosion, a torrential rush of air and a devastating **CRASH**. It threw the dark-haired boy back into the air, and when he landed, consciousness failed him.

Shido finally got his bearings back, and he tried to blink his eyes open. The light was blinding to him at first, and there was a sharp pain all over his body. It felt like he had been pelted by rocks or something, but finally, as his vision adjusted, he saw something just below him that he'd only ever seen on TV before. An entire city block, vanished in an instant, and replaced with a smouldering crater. Traces of the quake still hung in the air in the form of slight, wispy purple flames. He eased himself onto his feet and stared down at the destruction, and that's when he noticed the girl. The girl stood in the centre, her head pitched towards the sky, and gave off a mixture of feelings and emotions: sorrow, pride, anxiety, hope.

Shido had never seen anyone like that in his life.

The girl looked at him as he picked his way down, and as he did so, she pulled out her powerful sword. It was like the ground itself had spit it out, coming up from a stone 'sheath'. She pointed it at him. "So, you've come to kill me, then?"

The girl's accusation stopped him in his tracks. "Wh-What?"

Flaring up, she strode towards him, the blade glinting intimidatingly in the sunlight. "You heard what I said. Now, answer me!"

The pressure alone that the girl gave off knocked him over, like a punch to the stomach, and now on his back for the second time in as many minutes, he held his hand out before him, arm locked straight, in a vain attempt to stop her. "No, you've got the wrong idea! I could never kill anyone! I was just looking for my sister!"

She growled, "Liar!" then swung downwards, casting an arc of pink energy at him. It sliced through the air, and Shido was sure it would slice through him too. He braced and closed his eyes.

But there was nothing.

He was confused. Had it been that quick? Was he dead? When he opened his eyes, however, he saw that he was wrong. Before him, standing truly proud, was a girl with bright blue hair, clad in some fantastically futuristic armour, with metallic wings protruding from her back. On her head, a headset, no doubt made of the same material as the rest of her suit, sat over her ears, and when she turned her head to flash a smile at him, he saw that a glass visor covered her eyes.

Then, she spoke. "Hey, Princess, I'm gonna need you to _not_ kill him, please and thank you."

The girl, responding to 'Princess', lowered her sword. "Sam? What's going on?"

"Look, I'll explain in a bit, but just know that he's with me."

Princess tried to look past Sam at the shocked boy. "He is?"

Shido, also, was confused. "I…I am?"

" _Yes_ ," she emphasised as she looked back at both Shido and Princess, "he is, so don't kill him."

There was silence for a just a little bit longer than too long, before Sam said, "Well, come on then, meet Princess, Shido." She extended a hand out to help him up, and once on his feet, he looked warily at Princess.

The girl also looked warily at him, until, at last, she walked forwards, her hand out in greeting.

Shido tentatively shook it. The girl's armoured hand was cold in his.

"See? Now we're all best friends!" Sam chirped.

"Indeed," Princess mused.

As Shido rubbed his hand, he remembered why he was here in the first place. "Wait, my sister!"

Sam perked up at this. "Hmm?"

Shido turned towards the _other_ armoured stranger he had met today. "Sam, right?"

She nodded.

"I need to find my sister, Kotori! Kotori Itsuka. Have you seen her?"

"Sure I have."

"Where is she?"

Sam took off the headset, the glass visor folding back into the ear-cups as she did so, and presented it to him. "Here, put this on."

Unsure, he placed it over his own head. The visor unfolded over his eyes once it was on, and his vision was suddenly filled up with data and information that he didn't understand. Then, Kotori's face popped up in the centre. "Kotori?!"

"Hey, bro."

He wasn't sure whether he should be relieved or angry. "I… Where… What the hell is going on? Do you know these people?"

He settled for a mixture of both.

"Woah, woah! Calm down, bro! I'll explain everything in a bit, but right now, you need to give this back to Sam, and then you need to find some cover."

"Cover? What are you talking-" he was cut off by Sam's swiping hand as she snatched the headset back.

"Sorry Shido, I need this. Princess?" she asked.

"Ready," she replied.

"Good, they'll be here any minute now, so prepare yourself."

From within the inverted dome, both fighters readied their weapons. Princess flourished her blade with expertise, leaving thin trails of pink in the air, while Sam unfolded her wings and activated a dizzying array of ordnance. Missile pods opened up all over her armour. A long, white tube slid into place on her shoulder, closely following where she looked. Two blades of blue plasma reached out over her hands and two more cylinders popped out from the underside of her forearms. Up and down her red-and-white armour ran lines of energy, similar in colour to her blades, and focused in the centre of her chestplate and in the two turbines in her wings, where her main power sources were.

Princess, Kotori and Kannazuke watched all of this, before snarkily commenting, all in unison, "You done?

Sam chuckled and nodded softly. "Yeah, I'm done. Now come on, let's rock and roll!"


	4. Preparation

-Chapter 4, Preparation

 _"Jesus Christ, this has been a day! First the nightmares, and then the babysitting, and now this?! Can't a girl catch a break around here?"_ Sam struggled to fend off the blinding fury of the girl with the white hair's attack. With her missiles expended already, Sam was mostly down to hand-to-hand, as well as a few remaining shots from her shoulder-mounted gauss cannon. "Go away!" she screamed as she parried one of the girl's blows. She was dressed in the same futuristic armour as the rest of the AST unit, with her pale skin disrupting the familiar grey in some places; most notably her stomach.

"Never!" the girl growled back, swinging her green laser sword in a blazing, yet still controlled, rage.

"Heads up, Sam!" yelped the tumbling Princess as she barrelled helplessly towards them.

Sam perked up at the sound of her name, and just managed to jump out of the way. The other girl, however, didn't see her in time, and was wiped-out by Princess' momentum.

Sam gaped. "What the-?!"

"No talk time! Fight, now!" she replied before speeding back off for revenge. She had technically just gotten Sam out of what could have been a stalemate, but Sam didn't want to admit that.

Struggling, her armour (and pride) dented, the girl rose. "You...damn... _Spirit!_ Rargh!" She made to dash after Princess, but before she could, Sam put her arm across her chest. She _scowled_ at Sam for that. "Unhand me, _filth_. You're just on the same level as them."

Sam recoiled. "Filth?"

"The Spirits! You choose to help them, after seeing for yourself what they cause! Destruction, death, violence! It's all because of them!" She hyper-ventilated with anger. Not solely directed at Sam, but partially enough to make her feel queasy.

"What are you talking about?"

"You could never understand! What it's like to lose everything to these monsters!" she shrieked.

But, to Sam's surprise, it _did_ resonate with her somewhat. She _had_ once lost everything important to her. Four years ago… So much so, in fact, that she did take her hand away, and she did let it fall back down to her side. "I… What do they tell you…in the AST?"

But she was left without an explanation, and in the very literal dust, as the girl took the slightest window she was given and went after the purple Spirit. At first, Sam was stumped. Stopped in her tracks. _"Why does she hate them so much...?"_ She seemed to objectify all of them as the same entity, without any regard for uniqueness. But then, Sam flipped it on its head. _"Why don't I?"_ She bounced the question around inside her head, searching for an answer, until she finally came up with one. "It's because I talked to one… Saw her for what she was worth as a person. Nothing more or less…" Sam whispered that, letting it flow out of her subconscious and into her ears. She believed that.

Then, as she looked back up, and saw the girl chasing after her Spirit friend, she realised what she had to do. Not now, but later. Definitely later.

For now, though, she lined up a shot using the cannon on her shoulder, spun up the magnets, and let the round fly. It punched through the green shield of the white-haired girl's territory, then into her armour, knocking her out of the sky and leaving a thin smoke trail, the sight of which forced the AST squadron leader to order a retreat, much like what had happened every other time. Still, though, Sam needed to get that girl's name. Perhaps Kotori would know.

Princess let out a breath as Sam approached. "You know, it turns out all that showing off earlier actually paid off!" She stretched and clicked her back, still trying to loosen it from where she had been battered by a couple of units that had been pretty adept, especially compared to what either of them had been faced with before, which was, in one word: bad. However, when she saw Sam's face, she dropped the attitude. "What is it?"

Sam was too lost in her own thoughts to hear the question, and only after it being repeated twice, did she finally respond, "That girl, the one you knocked over, I need to talk to her."

Princess was confused. "Why?"

"Because…because we're more similar than she thinks."

Cocking her head and still confused, waiting for some clarification, Princess looked at Sam.

She sighed, and turned away. "Never mind."

* * *

Sam had her face in her palms, her legs swinging under Kannazuke's desk and a soft breath seeping out through her lips. _"Ugh, Shido… It's not that hard! You date the Spirits, seal their magic and save their lives. Not difficult."_ She watched the boy struggle with the concept again and again as Kotori tried to explain it.

"Look, bro, it's not that difficult," Kotori started for, according to Sam's counting, the ninth time. "All you have to do is-"

Shido swiped his hand through thin air, cutting his sister off. Sixth time that's happened too. "I get it, okay? Date the... _Spirits_ ; seal their... _magic_ ; Save their lives. I get it! I just don't get why I have to do it! I don't get why this exists!" He gestured round at the bridge of the ship. "I don't get why you're involved!" He gestured at Kotori. "And I don't get why I need a bodyguard!" He looked to Sam.

Sam gave him a two-finger salute. "Yo."

Shido looked at her for a second, and remembered earlier that day. "Okay, maybe I do on that last one," he corrected.

Kotori shook her head disapprovingly. "Shido, we need you. I don't know why it has to be you, but I just got lucky in figuring it out, and as it turns out, you have a special ability."

"To seal a Spirit's power?"

"Yes."

Shido took a deep breath, then exhaled again. "Why can't you use..."

"Samanya. Field operative Samanya," she offered.

"Yeah, why can't you use Samanya? She seemed to be doing just fine earlier on her own," he said.

Kotori, again, shook her head. "No. Sam is a very temporary measure. You're the only long-term solution we have."

Shido sat down, and held his chin in his hands. "And why should I?"

His sister reached forwards and placed a slim hand on his head. "Don't you want to help the Spirits?"

Then, as Shido gazed back up at his sister, and he opened his mouth to say, "No." Sam doubled over.

It was like a shotgun to her stomach, and within seconds of feeling it, she completely fainted.

* * *

"What…out there…?"

"I'm…sure. She…fainted and…up…"

"Whatever...was, make...never happens again..."

The black space, that Sam was just waking up to, forcefully ripped itself out from under her.

* * *

Sam shot bolt upright on the bed as soon as consciousness returned to her, and by the sterile-clean walls and pure-white beds, she very quickly located herself within The Fraxinus' sickbay. Relieved, she gently laid her head back onto the pillow. _"Ugh. Why have I got a bad feeling that this is going to become a regular occurrence..."_ She held the back of her hand to her forehead. She was burning up. The springs squeaked as she sank a little more into the mattress, and she let nothing but her gentle breathing fill the silence. The soft yellow of the sun cast in through the window at the end and bathed the room in its glow. A light, simulated wind passed over her face and gently brushed her cheek. The clock on the wall told her that just over sixteen hours had passed while she was out, and that it was now the early morning of the eleventh.

Sam groaned and swung her feet over the side, planted them on the cold floor, and shakily stood up. "Wow…I feel like crap," she said as she stumbled into the wall. She fought to stand back up and locked her legs beneath her. She was stable at last. "Right, now that I've regained the ability to stand up, apparently, let's get some clothes on."

Fifteen minutes later, the left-side door to the bridge slid open with a soft **hiss** and Sam stepped through. Kannazuke noticed her entrance, and gave a quick greeting, but Kotori was nowhere to be found. Then, out of the corner of her eye, Reine Murasame, the woman in her thirties and always adorned with a small brown teddy bear, who had been with Kotori in the Chemistry preparation room during their talk yesterday, she caught her glaring at Sam. However, once Sam noticed, she quickly looked away. "That's...troubling," she mused under her breath.

She didn't think about it again while she asked Kannazuke what happened, been told that he had no clue aside from what Sam herself already knew, and that Hinata was in her workshop if she wanted him, until she saw the exact same expression as she went to leave. It sent a chill dancing down her spine.

* * *

"What are you doing in here, then?" Sam asked as she entered the ship's workshop, that she had quickly claimed as her own after she noticed that seemingly no-one else used it.

Nat jumped off the workstation and hugged the girl. "Sam? Are you okay? You just collapsed!"

Sam smiled and returned the favour. "I-I don't know. It felt like I was punched or something, then I was gone after that." She chuckled guiltily as Nat rubbed her back.

"Well, you're better now, right?" he asked.

"Mmm, I'm fine," came the reply. "Now, answer me. What are you doing in here?" she repeated as she peeled away from his embrace and strode further into the space. She always felt a sense of nostalgia upon coming back here.

"Well," he started, "I was snooping around and looking at all your old prototypes and plans; seeing if there was anyway I could help you out there."

"Out on the field?" she queried.

"Yeah. It's all well and good being the voice in your ear, but I was thinking...I don't know...that I could be down there helping you, or something."

Sam rolled her shoulders and neck as she played with the idea in her head. "Ahhh, I don't… Have you ever even been in a fight before?"

Nat was sheepish as he said, "N-no..."

Sam sighed. "Then, as your friend, I can't let you be down there with me. It's way too dangerous."

"Oh, come on, Sam! I'm not a baby! I can fend for myself," he complained.

"Yes, but, you have no armour, weaponry or training. I do."

"And that's where you come in!" Nat grabbed her shoulders. "Teach me! Train me! Build me a suit like yours and some weapons to boot! You won't regret it."

Sam grimaced awkwardly and moved her head back. "I mean…if you really-really- _really_ want to..."

Nat nodded firmly. "I do."

Reluctantly, Sam said, "Fine. I'll train you. But you won't like it."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Sure...I would."

He hugged her tightly. "Thank you, Sammy."

"Come back to me after your first mission, and then tell me if you're still thankful," She replied.

Nat grinned mischievously. "Okay."

* * *

Later that day, Sam and Kotori were explaining Shido's training to him. _"Everyone's getting trained today,"_ she joked inside her head.

"I have to _play a dating game?_ " Shido questioned, totally dumbfounded.

"Y-yes..." Kotori replied.

"And then I have to _ask out my homeroom teacher?_ "

"That's what I said, yes."

"And that's it?"

"Well, we might test you out on some of your other friends too-"

"Test me out?! I'm not a lab rat!"

"I mean, you kinda are," Sam commented.

Shido tilted his head in her direction. "Not helping."

Sam put her hands up in surrender, before Shido turned away again.

"Look, I know it may seem trivial, but there is some science behind this. And it's one Ratatoskr themselves have made, so it's entirely topical," Kotori explained as she wrenched control of the conversation back under her.

"Meaning…?" Shido replied.

"Meaning it's not a waste of time."

"That remains to be seen."

"Sam, shut up!" Kotori snapped.

"Right, right, sorry. Please continue."

"Look, this is what we're doing, end of story. Got it? Me, Sam and Reine will talk you through the whole process, and then we can go after the Spirits. You'll have Sam as your bodyguard for when things go south, and the full power of the Fraxinus behind your every action. You'll do fine."

He let out a long breath. "Fine. I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Nope!" Kotori cheered.

"So, it's settled then?" Sam asked while she played a bang around her finger.

"Yeah, it's settled." Shido held a hand out to Sam, which she then took and firmly shook.

"Keep my job simple by not getting yourself killed, will you?" She said.

Shido, however, didn't bite. "No promises."

"Hey, you two, play nice."

They both looked towards Kotori. Sam smirked playfully, but Shido simply looked away with subtle embarrassment.


	5. Tohka

-Chapter 5, Tohka

Off they both went to pursue their further training. Sam had respectfully declined Kotori's offer to help train Shido and instead took to teaching Nat a thing or two about fighting. She had no doubt the Itsukas would do just fine on their own.

"Let's start this off with punching, shall we?" Sam asked. Her voice, softer than usual, barely carried over the tranquil wind that blew through the field. The emerald grass grazed against her ankles, which sent a sparkling sensation up her back sometimes, and waved happily in the breeze. Far off, undeterred by all the tiny humans below, the sun made its way slowly below the horizon. It would be dark soon. Across the field from them, a sturdy fence kept them from tumbling down the steep hill that surrounded the city.

"Sam, I don't hit girls," he replied as if she should know that.

She chuckled as she noticed the boy's subtly puffed-out chest. "Yeah, you won't be saying that when you've got a laser sword across your throat. Now come on and punch me." Drawing her fists up in front of her face, she adjusted her stance, ready for Hinata's attack. She wore a dark blue sweater and loose brown cargo pants. Not exactly her carbon fibre bodysuit, but it was warm enough and _much_ easier to get on.

"Fine, but you asked for it." Nat dashed forwards and threw a wild haymaker. It was a solid enough punch, if not poorly aimed. Sam easily batted it away, spun on one foot and then used the momentum to throw Nat into the dirt. A smug grin met him as he rose back up to his feet. "Okay, now I'm warmed up." He went for another strike. A far more reserved punch, and was significantly better aimed than the first, but also much slower as it sailed through the air. Sam sidestepped it while jabbing a foot out to trip him up, but as she did so, she felt a tug at her top, and then yelped as she was tossed to the ground just as quickly as him. She crashed into the grass, still not quite sure what just happened. "Gotcha."

Sam rolled onto her side and spotted Nat doing the same, his grasp still roughly embedded in the shoulder of her sweater. "Oh, you pulled me." Sam sounded unimpressed.

"Yeah? Is that a problem?" he queried.

She stood up and brushed herself off. "It's dirty, cheap and unreliable in a real fight," she stated.

Nat eased himself back onto his feet too, then shrugged his shoulders. "It worked."

Sam frowned. "Maybe, but don't rely on it. Now, try again."

Nat clenched his fists and adopted a stance. His legs were bent, his weight was down low, and his body was narrow relative to Sam. She cocked her head. Hadn't she seen that somewhere before?

Regardless, she readied her own stance. Equally low to the ground, but wider and more versatile. It allowed her to be aggressive or defensive at a moment's notice. A contrast to Nat's very defensive one.

Despite this, Nat took to the offensive. "Alright, here I come!" he shouted, then charged the distance between them. A left jab bounced off of Sam's reflecting hand, then Nat's right strike, but before she could get a counter in, he forced her away with a kick. His heel was barely short of grazing her nose, and before she knew it, he was upon her again with another kick. She jumped back as the attack fell short, then leaped right back into Nat with a rapid hook. He ducked under it while bringing his right fist upwards towards Sam's chin. However, using her knee, she blocked it, and continued up into Nat's stomach, sending him sprawling back into the mud. Once the brief exchange was over, Sam had to stop to catch her breath.

"Where the hell did that come from?" she accused, still reeling from Nat's assault.

Grunting, he put his knees under him and looked up. "I...I have no idea. I don't even think _I_ did that. I didn't feel anything."

One of Sam's eyebrows crept upwards. "What do you mean?"

Nat turned to sit down on his backside and put his hands out behind him to prop him up. "Like there was someone else controlling me, or like it was instinct..." he trailed off, unable to fully explain what he had felt. "I felt like a puppet."

"A puppet?" Sam sat down next to him and leant her head against his shoulder. She let her eyes drift shut as the breeze played with her hair. "Weird."

"Mmm, very." A breath escaped his lips and joined the gentle breeze around them, eventually weaving its way through the trees around them and twisting high up into the late-evening sky. Tranquillity reigned here, at last, and they both shared the moment as thoughts danced about within their minds.

Sam finally spoke up, "Either way, that was some good fighting. There might be some hope for you yet," she teased.

"Mmm, I hope so," he replied.

A few minutes later, Samanya sprung back up onto her feet and offered a hand out to Nat. "One more?" she asked.

The boy grinned as he took her hand and got back onto his feet. "Sure, why not?" Accepting the challenge, he adopted the same stance and steeled himself.

Sam did the same; a fiery look in her eyes. "On three."

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

Sam burst into a sprint, sending a spider's web of cracks into the ground as she took off. She was upon Nat in barely more than a second, and sent her right fist rocketing towards him. He deflected it with his left, spun on his feet and brought his own right fist flying in an arc towards her. She ducked under the blow and went to sweep his legs, but he jumped back before she could. Upon landing, he charged her down once more and went for a devastating strike, similar to what he'd done earlier. But, this one was much faster. So much so that Sam barely got her arms up in an X shape in time to block it. She reeled back, retreating one...two...three steps, before finally stopping. A bead of sweat glided down her forehead and across her cheek. Then, she leapt at him, bringing her right fist up and behind her as if going for a jumping haymaker. Nat saw this, smiled, and positioned himself to counter.

Then it was Sam's turn to smile.

Her jump purposefully fell short, and she tucked into a roll. Once she was halfway through, she pushed up with her arms and locked her legs out straight. The sudden upwards force brought her boots slamming into Nat's jaw, and literally sent him flying. He tumbled through the air, flailing his arms, as Sam was carried into the air a little ways after him.

But it was a short-lived victory.

Somehow, Nat managed to land back on his feet before Sam, who was still just about airborne, and now faced him after a slow backwards flip. Seizing the chance, he bolted at her while she remained helpless. He brought his fist back, twisted his hips, and smashed Sam right in the stomach. The sheer force caused Nat to fall straight onto his face as he failed to counter-balance.

Sam, on the other hand, was flung back so quickly that she only stopped when she crashed into an old oak tree thirty feet away, and then, battered and bruised, she hung her head in defeat. That was a first for her.

Nat, his mouth gaping open in shock, struggled to stand up, but his muscles burned in resentment. There was no way he was getting back up any time soon.

* * *

The next day, Shido began stage two of his training.

"Listen, I know you're not gonna like this, but it's time to put that work you've been doing to a real-world test."

Shido let out a breath and rolled his head. "I'm ready. What's the test?" He wandered the halls of his school as Kotori fed him information through the small, red, invisible earpiece in his right ear.

"Obviously, the best measure of your training would be to successfully ask someone out," stated Kotori.

"Of course," Shido replied. That made sense enough. You could only get so far with somewhat-oddly-specific dating games.

"For this, we wanted to pick someone who you knew relatively well. This is your first test, after all, so we're going easy."

Shido suddenly felt an overwhelming premonition that there was a 'but' coming.

"But, because you don't know anyone because you're a frikkin' loner, we were hard-pressed for choice!" His little sister shouted.

Shido winced and turned the corner. Standing there was Miss Okamine, a kind-hearted woman of her late twenties, and also Shido's homeroom teacher. "Oh, hello Shido! You wanted to see me?"

A spark shot all the way up Shido's body. "M-miss Okamine! O-one moment please!" He quickly spun around and ducked behind the corner. "Kotori! Are you kidding!?"

"You're trying to win over dangerous, super-powered beings! If you can't even approach your teacher, you don't have a chance with them!" His sister shouted back.

Shido grumbled at his little sister before sighing and regaining his composure as best he could. "Fine, fine. I'll do it. But you owe me."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Shido came back around the corner and looked down at the woman.

"Shido, are you alright?" she asked, her voice soft and sweet.

"No I'm not. In fact, I'm not alright at all," he stated. "In reality, I'll probably never be alright again."

"Shido-" the woman started.

"Don't," he cut in. "I know what you'll say. You'll say that no matter how I feel and no matter what you want, we can never be together." Shido wasn't particularly aware of where this was coming from. "You're beautiful, clever and kind. You're heart aches with so much love to give but you always find yourself sad that you have no-one to give it to."

Miss Okamine was stunned, but kept listening. Was he reading her mind?

"You also think that we could never be together. That our age forbids our love." Shido flourished. "To that, I can only say one thing: nonsense! Love can transcend any age, and there is no stronger bond than that of affection! Please, Miss Okamine, take my hand," he outstretched a hand towards the woman's shocked form, "and together we'll rebel against this restricting society, and live happily in peace! We'll show everyone that our love cannot be stopped by something so simple!"

Kotori, Kannazuke and everyone else on board the Fraxinus sat in shocked silence. All except Reine, who simply offered a tight smile. Okamine just stared, mouth agape and eyes glossy. Shido winced again for the third time in as many minutes. Had he gone too far? Oh God what was she going to say?

Unfortunately, he'd never know, as all he could do was watch as the poor woman fainted on her feet and slumped against the wall, sliding down a short way before collapsing onto the floor.

"K-Kotori? What did I just do?"

"I…I have no idea," she replied, still shocked from Shido's display.

"Should I just leave her here?" he asked, unsure how to go forward.

"Yeah, we'll sort something out. Just get out of there." Kotori massaged her brow. _"Seriously, where did that come from? Shido's a total dork, and should not be doing stuff like that."_

Shido bent down to make sure his teacher was alright. She seemed in a comfortable enough position. "Alright, I'll let you take care of her." A moment later, she was whisked away in a swirling green energy, presumably up to the Fraxinus' sickbay, and Shido set off down the hall once more, his mind whirring as he mulled over what just happened. He wasn't sure that the last thirty seconds were totally thanks to his training. Knowing what to say is one thing, but actually executing on that knowledge is a totally different beast. Very strange, indeed.

* * *

Also lost in thought, but of a totally different subject matter, was Origami Tobiichi, one of Shido's classmates, and the smartest and sportiest girl in the year. Her mind was racing back to a few days prior, when something extraordinarily strange had happened. Her face was blank, a staple of her character, and she always wore that same unreadable expression no matter what. She was well-liked in the school and popular enough, but sometimes people felt uneasy about approaching her, due to her constantly neutral face. _"Who was that girl? And how was she so much better than me?"_ The girl mused to herself. _"Was she really a Sp-"_

**THWACK**

Origami pitched backwards and fell heavily onto her behind, her train of thought thoroughly broken and her head sparking with pain. She sat there, dazed for a moment, before looking up. Standing above her was a boy about her age, with rich, blue hair and a soft face, dressed in the school's uniform, just like her. "Oh, Shido." She dusted off her royal blue pleated skirt and stood up.

"You...You know my name?" Shido asked, surprised. He wasn't all that well known at his high-school, and certainly didn't expect to be recognised by Origami Tobiichi.

"Of course I do," she replied plainly. Typical of her.

Shido made a face. Had he ever told her his name? "How?"

"Simple, I watch you in the locker room through the wall after PE. Your friends have said your name enough times."

* * *

Shido looked shocked. "Y-you watch me get changed?" The boy recoiled, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

Origami tilted her head. "Yes. Is that a problem?"

"Of course it is!" Shido blurted out, caught up in his embarrassment and with his hands covering his crotch.

"Oh," she replied, disappointed, "I'm sorry. I was curious."

"S-sure..." Shido relaxed a little and looked down at his classmate; her eyes were distant. "Hey, chin up. I'm sorry for upsetting you."

Tobiichi nodded subtly and lifted her head back up. "It's okay. I've just never been that close with a boy, so I've never seen one-"

"Yeah I get the picture!" Shido sighed, composed himself, and rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry about crashing into you back there. Can I treat you to a movie sometime?"

In a flash, Origami's demeanour did a one-eighty. "Sure, I'd love that."

Shido blinked. "Huh?"

Then, with lightning speed, she whipped out a small picture of herself and scribbled a number on the back, the pen coming seemingly from nowhere. "Here's my number. Text me yours when you get home, and give me the date. I'll be waiting for it," Origami strode past Shido, and as she did so, put her mouth to his ear, "so don't let me down." Then, just like the wind, she vanished.

Ten seconds later, Shido started to reply, before finally realizing she was long gone. "What just…?"

"You got played!" Kotori rubbed her forehead, futilely pushing the anxiety aside. "Shido! You frikkin' moron!"

The boy winced at the sharp shriek that blasted through his earpiece and stabbed at his eardrums. "Kotori, calm down! I got the date, didn't I?"

"They're supposed to fall for you, not the other way around!"

"Well, lesson learned!"

Kotori balled her hand into a fist. "Next time I see you, I'm gonna rip that stupid blue hair right off your scalp for being such an idiot!"

"I'd like to see-"

**YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. THERE HAVE BEEN PRECURSORY SIGNS OF AN IMPENDING SPACIAL QUAKE IN THIS VICINITY. PLEASE EVACUATE TO THE NEAREST SHELTER, IMMEDIATELY. I REPEAT…**

Reine butted in. "I hate to break up your little family chit-chat, but we've got work to do."

Kotori scowled before leaping back on the mic. "You heard her, moron. We're recalling you to The Fraxinus. Try not to screw this one up!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll try," Shido replied, before being whisked away in an array of green energy.

* * *

"Sam, you're up!" Nat punched Sam's shoulder as they both dashed along the length of the ship's hull, shoes kicking up an irregular melody of squeaks as rubber met metal.

"I want you as my eyes and ears this time, Nat," she replied as they approached the bridge.

"You got it."

They broke off away from each other, one going to The Fraxinus' vast control room and the other pounding towards her workshop. Nat reached his destination first, flying into the bridge and diving into Kannazuke.

"Woah, kid, slow down." He grabbed hold of the boy and set him down into the chair. "Here." Dangling off Kannazuke's finger was the headset connected to Sam's intercom. "Don't talk too much on the mic and focus on her shields."

"Roger, sir." Hinata flexed his fingers as the console sprung to life. The whir of motors, buzz of screens and crackle of radio frequencies met the young radio officer, who began to tap away at the keyboard, each couple of strokes bringing up a new, complex readout. "Ready when you are."

Kotori whistled appreciatively. "Very fast on the uptake. I like you." Then, she dropped the kind attitude and shot a glance at Shido. "Unlike _someone_."

Shido rolled his eyes and took off towards the teleporter room.

* * *

"Alright, let's suit up!" Sam, also flinging herself around the room, dove into a sealed-off chamber to one side of the workshop's perimeter. Inside, she hastily stripped off her casual clothes, dumped them into a drawer that had recently popped out, and waited with her arms up at ninety-degrees to the rest of her body. Not long after, a faint fizzle sprung to life and bounced around the small room, sending her hair floating and her eyes sparking. With a blinding light, her bodysuit appeared, hugging her tightly from her neck to her toes. After that, a rapid fire of lights, each accompanied with a **pop** as air was displaced. Gauntlets, breastplate, spaulders, greaves, boots, headset. Gauss cannon, missiles, plasma repeaters, plasma lances, shield generators.

Sam's visor slid over her eyes as the ArchAngel array was fastened to her back and her HUD ran through diagnostics. "Green across the board!"

"Alright then. Team?" Kotori prompted.

"Let's go get that Spirit!" Nat, Sam, Kannazuke and the rest of the crew on the bridge cheered. Shido just chuckled nervously.

* * *

Raizen high school never stood a chance against the Spacial Quake. Bricks and beams versus a magical explosion of that magnitude? As if. Windows were smashed, corridors had collapsed in on themselves and even an entire wing had been sucked into the void. The field was definitely no-more, and the track that had gone with it. Fortunately, no-one had been caught in the blast this time. Miss Okamine had been returned home during the quake itself, and, with a little luck, she wouldn't be able to recall a thing about Shido's confession, or her fainting afterwards.

Spacial Quakes were fickle things. The sphere itself was cataclysmic. No armour could stand up to it, as it would be simply swallowed as it grew. However, beyond the initial expansion, the concussive blast was quite tame. Simply an expulsion of the air that managed to escape the quake's radius, and then the subsequent rush of air as it filled the vacuum left behind. Enough to shatter windows and rupture eardrums if you were unlucky, but ultimately with the medicine available, that was hardly a real concern.

Suffice to say, Raizen had seen better days.

No correlation to those days being the days Shido was absent.

None.

The thick wall of trees perching along the banks that encompassed the school provided the perfect cover for the AST reconnaissance squad's overwatch of the quake site. Numbering ten in total, the unit was formidable. Bolstered further by the excellent Master Sergeant Tobiichi and the experienced First Lieutenant Kusakabe.

"Consider yourself lucky, Shido. The AST CR-Units are deadly, but not built for CQC," stated Kotori.

"CQC?" Shido fiddled with his magically-invisible earpiece as he hesitated at the school's front opening. Another fine example of Ratatoskr's work.

"Close Quarters Combat." Sam stopped abreast of Shido and scoped out the damage. "Not too bad, all in all. Support struts held up well by the looks of things." She stretched her neck. "As long as Princess stays inside, and we minimise further damage to the building, things should be a piece of cake."

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one still in school uniform," came Shido's sharp remark.

"And you're not the one who's going to be shot at. It's either me or Princess in the firing line." She looked over at him. "'Kay?"

"Whatever, let's just get moving."

"That's the spirit, Shido! No pun intended. You both know what to do." Kotori unwrapped a lollipop and popped it in her mouth. _"Hmm, cherry."_

* * *

Sam on point, the pair moved through the tattered school. Rubble pockmarked everywhere they went and brick dust hung in the air like an ominous haze, making Sam's hair go frizzy. They moved from hallway to hallway, classroom to classroom, and stairwell to stairwell. Raizen was big, or were they just taking an indirect route?

"Kotori, I'm not sure I can do this," muttered Shido.

His little sister, for once, replied genuinely. "Shido, it's gonna be alright. This is what you've trained all week for, and I know it's in your head, so now you've just gotta feel it in your heart."

"I hope I can do that, Kotori." But Shido, deep inside, was still very unsure.

"And besides, you've got the might of Ratatoskr right here! The finest bodyguard in the universe, and the greatest bridge crew to ever bless this Earth!" Kotori exclaimed.

"Oh boy…" Both Sam and Shido glanced at each other.

"Introducing…" A spotlight flashed over a middle-aged man in a green business suit with a streak of white hair splitting his neatly-shaven black hair. "With five marriages and five divorces under his belt, the 'Love-Master', 'Bad marriage' Kawagoe!"

"Hey there," came Kawagoe's ever smooth (at least in his eyes) voice, along with a wink and a blown kiss.

"It's the working girl's favourite midnight client…" An older man, complete with the same green business suit and a simple pair of spectacles, receding hairline and deceiving manner took a swig of whiskey from his glass. "'CEO' Mikimoto!"

"Who doesn't love love?"

"Go after this lady's fella and you'll regret it!" A quiet, younger woman with long dark hair that covered her face and contrasted her pale skin looked deep into her lap. "Don't piss her off! 'Nail-Knocker' Shiizaki!"

Her head snapped up as she clutched a voodoo doll. She hadn't even taken a breath yet.

Shido looked at Sam. "How long does this go on for?"

"Yeah, I had it when I joined too…" She replied.

"The man with no fewer than a hundred wives…" Once more, a middle-aged man with a green business suit and glasses, unkempt brown hair and sly smile. "'Dimension Breaker' Nakatsugawa!"

He pushed his hair back with a cool look in his eyes and gave a big grin. "A-Okay." His teeth sparkled.

"Lastly, a woman who's love is so strong, not even a restraining order can keep her away!" A woman with a smooth, comforting face framed by curly brown hair and a feminine, beige version of the men's suits stared longingly at a picture printed on card. "'Deep Love' Minowa!"

She looked up with a confused expression, apparently having been zoned-out for everyone else's introductions.

"Fantastic. I'm relying on perverts." Shido's reply was understandably dry and cynical.

"Don't worry, everyone is good at what they do." Sam and Reine said at the exact same time.

"Heh?" Sam's eyebrow shot up. "What just…?"

"And that's only a portion of the troops on our side!" Kotori cut in. "So just stay calm, and you've got this in the bag."

"You're not the one down here…"

"Oh, be quiet you big baby. Leave the fighting to me, and I'll leave the flirting to you." Sam pushed on ahead through the dim corridors, lit in a warm orange by the evening sun.

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

* * *

Sam held up her fist as they reached a sliding door that led into one of the many classrooms. "Princess is up ahead," she whispered. "You're up."

Shido nodded and slid past her. He peeked through the crack between the door and its frame, and standing there, as majestic as ever, was Princess. Shido couldn't help but gasp.

But, as luck would have it, that gasp was just loud enough for Princess to hear. She slowly turned on her heel to face Shido. Her eyes locked onto him for a moment, until something else caught her attention. She couldn't see it, per se, but she could feel it.

A gut feeling. A nauseating feeling. A feeling like cold sweat.

She reached out with her hand high above her head, eyes still locked onto the space past Shido, and sent a surge of pink energy over her forearm. In a flash, she brought her hand down, letting forth that energy as a cascade that sliced through the air. It was so fast, that even though Shido noticed it, his body was rooted in place and his eyes grew wide with fear.

The wave and Princess herself shot past him, taking a few hairs of his head as they whizzed past.

The wave crashed over Sam's guard, her shield fizzling from the kinetic impact. A concussive blast rippled through her, disorienting her, and distracting her long enough to miss Princess' flying punch. She staggered back a step, covering her face as she reeled. Princess came at her again with another punch, but Sam quickly grappled onto her assailant's arms to stop the assault. Her visor suddenly folded up. "Princess! It's me, Sam!"

Princess' eyes widened. "S-Sam!" She let go and took an extra back-pedal as precaution. "What are you doing here? How do you even know I'm here?" the panicked Spirit spouted.

"Princess." Sam took a step forward in greeting, but the Spirit recoiled.

"Sam, wings," she heard Nat's voice in her ear, and looked over to see her wings fully open in response to the engagement.

Sam sheepishly folded her wings back up, to which Princess returned the favour by also relaxing her guard. "Sorry about that. Force of habit," Sam spoke.

Princess' cheeks reddened. "Likewise."

An awkward silence befell the group. Shido, hesitantly looking from side to side, broke it first. "Umm…"

the Spirit wheeled round and stared at him. "Why are you here?"

Sam shuffled away. Time to let Shido handle things.

"I-" the boy started.

"Don't answer yet!" Kotori interrupted Shido mid-sentence as the Spirit's mental readout appeared on the bridge's main screen.

"The Spirit's mental status has changed," Shiizaki warned.

"Analysis complete. Results are being displayed," Kawagoe added.

"Bringing choices on screen," Mikimoto finished.

Akin to a common multiple-choice dating simulation game, much like the ones Shido trained on, three options appeared before each of the crew. Specially selected by the most advanced magical technology Ratatoskr had at its disposal, there was a ninety-three percent chance that at least one option was an answer that would improve the Spirit's mental state, continue the conversation and keep Shido alive. Of those, the crew would vote on which one that Shido should go with.

Option One: "You know why I'm here. I'm here to save you."

Option Two: "I'm just a passer-by! Please don't hurt me!"

Option Three: "I could ask you the same thing."

"Well, there they are." The crew studied the choices for a moment, considering each one's outcomes and possibilities, before voting on which to go with.

The third option won by a reasonable margin.

"Well, no surprises there. You guys went with my pick," Kotori voiced her thoughts.

"The first choice is direct, and a classic, but would mean nothing to her. It's unlikely the Spirit even has a concept of 'being saved'," said Mikimoto.

"Option two's out too. If he gets away, that defeats the point of the whole operation," Kannazuke noted. "Number three it is."

"I agree. It's a light-hearted enough sentence, and either way, we'll get some information about what the Spirit does when she arrives in our world." She nodded to herself. "Okay, Shido, we've made up your mind! Now listen closely and repeat after me."

Princess scowled. "What are you waiting for? Answer the question already!"

Shido let out a breath. "I could ask you the same thing, you know."

Princess made a face. "What's that supposed to mean? You think I know why I'm dragged here against my will whenever and however?! Are you making fun of me?!" Once more, the Spirit's hand glowed and crackled with pink energy.

Sam quickly intervened, clasping Princess' wrist firmly, but not harshly. "Let the boy talk, please."

Princess looked at Sam, before snatching her arm away and watching as the blue-haired warrior backed-up once more. "So, why are you here?" She asked again.

Shido replied on the spot this time. "Don't you remember me? My name is Shido Itsuka and I'm a student at this school! I've got no reason to fight you!"

Princess squinted at the boy stood before her, when a fleeting memory rose to the forefront of her mind. "Yes… Yes, I remember you now. Sam told me to let you go back then, too, but I _don't_ remember you helping us." She stepped towards the boy, her pressure alone pushing him onto his behind. He scrambled against the wall behind him. "So, what? You won't kill me but you won't help me? If that is the case, then I have no use for you." She crouched down to his height and stared at him. Her violet eyes piercing Shido's brown eyes, all the way down to his soul.

Now, up so close, he couldn't meet her sorrowful gaze.

She pushed his head up against the wall, forcing him to look up at her. "So, start talking. Why are you here? What are you trying?"

Shido winced, but answered as calmly as he could. "I'm not _trying_ anything. None of us are."

"Liar. Every human is out to get me, and then two come out of the blue saying that they want to help. I refuse to believe that there's a third just like that. It's too much of a coincidence!"

"I swear that's not true. And not just me, Sam and that other boy. There's loads of people who want to see you happy!"

She let go of his hair, allowing Shido to look at her freely. "You never answered me. You said you won't kill me, but you're not helping me either. So then, why are you here?"

Once more, three options flashed up on the Fraxinus' main screen, but before anyone had time to vote, Kotori made a snap-decision. "Her first reaction wasn't that pretty, so to be on the safe side, we'll go with the first option."

"I-I wanted to meet you," stated Shido; his voice finally a little more stable.

"To meet me? Why would you want that?"

Once more, three options. This time, the bridge was silent. "Any ideas?" Kotori asked.

Nakatsugawa spoke first. "We need to be clear and direct. This girl's way too dense to get anything subtle."

"Good point, and we've already answered enough questions. Time to pick up the pace."

Shido hesitated, but spoke clearly. "It's simple. I came here because I'm interested in you."

**SHWING**

The wall behind Shido was cut in half by Princess' out-lash.

Sam sprung to stop the confrontation, but before she could, Nat came over the mic. "Don't! Leave them." He looked up at Kannazuke, who nodded subtly. Sam growled, but did as she was told.

"I'm in no mood to joke around." The Spirit's face was unreadable.

Without missing a beat, Shido responded. "I know, and neither am I."

Princess just stared. Not blinking nor moving.

Shido stood up. "Tch, you wanna know the truth? I came here so I could talk to you. I don't even care what we talk about. You can ignore me if you want to!" It was there. Faint, but there. A feeling rising to the surface of his heart. An aching pain, a burning desire, both joy and hate in a bittersweet yin and yang, just like Kotori had said earlier. Shido steeled himself. "But, know this: I'm not like all those other humans. Because-"

"Stop it! Wait for our signal!"

Kotori tried to stop Shido's rambling, but he pushed past her pleas. He knew what needed to be said and he was going to let it all out right now.

"Because I'll never let you down!"

Princess gasped as his words shot straight through her. She knew Sam and Nat had meant well, but to actually hear it laid bare in all its glory… That was different. She turned away from the boy. "I… When you said you were interested in me…were you being serious?"

"Yes, I was."

"But, like, _serious_ serious?" She looked at him, her voice softer than before.

" _Serious_ serious," came Shido's reply.

" _One hundred percent serious_ serious?!"

" ** _One thousand percent serious_** serious!"

Princess turned away once more and ruffled her hair. "Mmm… Nrgnh… Jerk!" She shouted at Shido as she crossed her arms and glared at him. "Who would seriously fall for those amateur tricks? Stupid dummy!"

"But that was from the heart!" Shido protested.

"Then again, maybe this isn't just a coincidence. Maybe my luck _is_ finally changing." Princess mused to herself. "I like your openness, and how direct you are. You're easy to talk to and you know this world better than I do. It might just work…" Princess nodded. "Yep, it's settled. This should prove your usefulness."

Shido's face brightened. "Thanks, I guess," he said, before realizing there was a question he wanted to ask. "Right, what was your name? I don't think I ever caught it."

"My name…? I've never had one of those…" once again, Princess turned to think. "I suppose I'll need one if I want to learn why humans are so awful." She smiled at Shido. "Okay, why don't you come up with something you can call me?"

"Well, she's certainly putting the Fraxinus to work, isn't she?" Kotori frowned and leant on her arm. "Alright, crew! We need to think of a name on the double!"

The seven of them, not including Kotori herself, started racking their brains for a good name, but as Reine was quick to point out, the few suggestions they had probably weren't going to be enough.

The red-headed commander quickly agreed. "I'll call in the troops from around the world." She quickly typed something into her own console. "Ratatoskr's secret weapon: ask people who play our dating-sim!"

* * *

"Sam."

"Go ahead."

"I don't like this." Hinata leant back in his chair, studying the displays before him while the members around him squabbled over the Spirit's new name.

"What's wrong?" the girl asked.

"Well," the boy started as he changed the camera feed. Up came the AST squad, still camping out in the thicket, but looking like they were preparing to move. "I'm only counting nine in the squad."

" _Nine?_ I thought there were ten?" Sam glanced around her, checking every window and room within her line of sight, suddenly uneasy.

"There _were_ ten a moment ago."

Sam's shields flared into the visible spectrum, both instinct and training shouting at her to get ready. "Can you confirm you've lost her?"

"I'm not sure. They're moving around a lot. She could just be hidden behind a tree." Nat panned his eyes over the image, counting their ranks. He only ever got to nine. "AST squads are designed to fight as a pack, right? Not have individuals break off."

"Can you identify the missing member?"

"It looks like…" Nat pursed his lips. "Origami."

Sam's fist clenched on its own.

* * *

"How about…Tohka?" put forward Shido.

"Toh…ka…" Princess gave the name some thought. "Tohka… Tohka. _Tohka_. _Tohka!_ Yes, I think I like that name!"

Shido looked relieved. After 'Tome' hadn't gone down so well, he was worried she _would_ blast him through the next wall. He took the chalk from the blackboard and noted it down for the Spirit to see.

"Is that how it is written?" Following Shido's example, the new Tohka carved her name into the board with a magic-tipped finger. "Huh…"

Once more, Tohka repeated her name. "Tohka." Looking up at the boy, her face bright, she expressed her sincere gratitude, "Now I have a name. And I really think I like it! Thank you!" It was a heartfelt sentiment. Her first real name.

"Yeah, you're quite welcome," Shido replied, returning the open expression, before his face twisted in realisation. _"'Tohka' just means 'tenth', as in, the first day we met. But, hey, it's not like she'll ever need to know that."_

Tohka opened her mouth to speak. "Shido-"

"Get down!" Sam screamed into the room, slapping Shido down to the ground and putting herself between what was left of the ceiling and Shido's prone body.

Not a moment later, a cavalcade of gunfire erupted from the evening sky, lighting up Sam's shields and the protective barrier Tohka had formed over herself. "Hey, what did I tell you about not being the one getting shot at, huh?" She grinned at Shido, despite the bullets raining down all around her.

After a few seconds, the initial burst subsided, and Sam was able to assess the situation. "Tohka, how many can you see?"

"Nine," came her fast response.

"I can only see four, so, given the angle, I don't think they can see you, Shido." The corner he was in, still by the chalkboard and near the door, was shaded by the partial ceiling, and thus couldn't be seen from the AST's position. "Stay right there."

Shido nodded and stayed-put.

"Tohka, I'll handle these guys. Enjoy your talk with Shido."

"Are you sure?" Tohka glanced up at the blue-haired girl.

"Absolutely." Sam flexed her wings, unfolding them as wide as they would go, but before she took off, she gave one more glance behind her. "I like your name." Then, kicking up a cloud of dust, she rocketed towards the squad above her.

Tohka's gaze followed Sam's movements for a split-second, until she spun on her heel and sat down with Shido, her back to the AST.

Itsuka put his hands in his lap and started, "So, you wanna know about this world, don't you? I'll answer anything you want, as long as I know it."

"Alright, first…" Tohka started.

* * *

Master Sergeant Tobiichi watched that familiar streak of blue and red take off away from her, and away from the Spirit. She smiled. "Fool."

Dashing along well-known turns and halls, the layout of a school that she had committed to memory, the girl moved fast and silently like a ghost. She bobbed between doorways, ducked under rubble and flew over obstacles, before skidding to a halt right outside a certain classroom. She could hear it talking loud and clear.

"I'm curious," Shido began, "if you're not human, what exactly are you?"

She gasped. What was Shido doing here? And why was he talking to the Spirit? Rage started to bubble up inside her. _"Why are you talking to my Shido like you're best friends? I'll kill you."_

"I…don't know." The Spirit replied. Origami had to consciously stop herself from leaping at its throat then and there. "I don't remember how long ago I appeared out of nowhere. My birth was sudden – inexplicable. That's all I can recall. Anything past that is fuzzy and…distorted. I honestly don't know what kind of being I am."

Shido was stunned at Tohka's melancholy words. "That's awful."

"I suppose so, but I've never felt anything else, so I can't compare it to much." Tohka twisted her hips to look up at Sam. _"You've got a good friend, Shido."_

"Mmm, that's a good point…" Shido trailed off.

Tobiichi prepared to spring into action. "I don't know why you're here, Shido, but please forgive me for this," she whispered.

* * *

"Here's your chance!" Kotori punched the sky in emphasis. "Her happiness-meter is over seventy! Now is as good a time as any to make a move."

"What do you want me to do?" Shido muttered under his breath.

"Well, you could start by asking her out on a date," his little sister replied.

Shido tensed up at that; enough for Tohka to notice. "Hmm, what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just cold," he replied, playing it off.

But Tohka wasn't convinced. She squinted at the boy. "You've been muttering under your breath for a while… Are you hiding something from me?" Her voice was raised in suspicion.

Shido's back straightened with shock. "No, no! You're overreacting!"

A dark-purple sphere of energy was pointed at him. "Then tell me what you were saying just now."

Shido choked on his words. "I…forgot?"

"Come on, little bro. Cut to the chase and ask her out," Kotori prompted. "Ask her out! Ask her out!"

Before long, the rest of the crew joined in with the cheering. "Ask her out! Ask her out! Ask her out!"

Nat put his head in his palm. _"Peer pressure! Peer pressure! Peer pressure!"_

The crew's jeers echoed in Shido's ear like a broken record, pushing him to come out and say it. "All right, all right! If you just shut up, I'll do it!" he shouted into his earpiece, earning a confused look from the Spirit. "Tohka, I wanna ask you something." Shido's hands were planted firmly in his lap – embarrassment kept his eyes clamped shut. "But it's…well, it's kind of abrupt."

Shido took a deep breath. "Will you go out on a date with me?"

* * *

Origami's heart dropped. _"D-Date? With the Spirit? My Shido?!"_ the girl gasped for air, struggling to make sense of the situation. _"Just what did it do to him?!"_ She could control her emotions no longer. Her body quaked with anger, but her mind stayed steady.

Calculated revenge is far more dangerous than blind rage.

* * *

Sam clashed with Kusakabe, sparks flying. As long as she stuck close, the rest of the squad were hesitant to open fire, but the instant she broke away, her shields would get peppered. Using this to her advantage, she hugged her foe, stayed in close and beat down Kusakabe's shields.

The Lieutenant went blow-for-blow with Sam, matching every punch coming her way with a slash of her beam sword. "Even though you willingly put yourself in my territory, you're still keeping pace with me. That's impressive." Kusakabe stated. "The AST would kill to have you in their ranks."

"You sure? Wouldn't that put you out of a job?" Sam bantered with the woman as they fought, but she suspected that Kusakabe was bluffing. It was true that being inside a CR-Unit's territory tugged significantly at speed and agility, and could make the victim feel nauseous, but the difference in ability was re-balanced in Kusakabe's favour by the territory, not re-balanced in Sam's favour by her skill. She swiftly ducked under one swipe, spun around another and brought her foot crashing over the back of Kusakabe's head.

She was flung to the ground, leaving her shields broken and _very_ pissed off. Sam pirouetted round to face the other members of the AST's unit, eyeing them up one-by-one and taunting them with an inviting hand gesture. "Come on, don't let your commander have all the fun."

A girl with dark-brown hair took the challenge, and sped towards Sam; blade ready for a sweeping blow.

"Don't!" Kusakabe interjected, her hand thrust up towards them

Both Sam and the girl looked down at the woman with confusion.

"Remember?" she taunted. "Count us."

Sam mentally checked the AST members, "Nine." Then choked on her breath.

" ** _Origami!_** "


	6. Origami's resolve

-Chapter 6, Origami's resolve

Shido gulped as he felt the cold, hard barrel of a pistol pressed against his temple, and in his peripheral vision, he could see the muzzle of an assault rifle pointing at the two girls in front of him.

Those two girls were held in place by Origami's not-so-subtle sentiment.

"If either of you move, I will pull the trigger," Tobiichi spat. "I'll regret it, but I won't hesitate. Those are not the same emotions."

Sam was sure the girl was bluffing. Origami threatening to kill Shido? Surely not. Tentatively, she shuffled forwards.

**CRACK-CRACK-CRACK**

The ground exploded at her feet as the rifle kicked back. "Don't test me, you scum. What I have to do to Shido will be nothing to what I'll gladly do to you." Her face twitched with rage at the Spirit, and the one that would dare help the Spirit.

"Let him go!" Tohka shouted, somewhere between defiance and desperation.

The muzzle swivelled towards her. "Not another word out of you," answered Origami.

Regardless, Tohka countered, "You know that doesn't do anything to me, so why bother?"

To answer the question, Origami made a show of pressing her pistol harder against Shido's head. "Maybe not, but this would."

Tohka growled, but stopped when Sam put her arm out across the Spirit's shaking body. "Don't do anything rash," she whispered; eyes locked on Origami's hand. _"Even if she is bluffing, any sudden moves will spark a reflex action in her finger, pulling the trigger anyway."_ They both stared at Origami, and Origami stared back. Shido, caught in the middle of everyone's attention, did his best not to panic or fidget too much. He, too, hoped the girl was bluffing.

* * *

Kotori, bolt upright in her chair, called for a status report on their options.

Kawagoe was first with bad news, "We've got some interference down there – no doubt AST – and we can't retrieve him using the ship's teleporter."

Miizaki was next, "We can't use the ship's main cannon, either. We'll fry everything down there, _including_ Shido, Sam and Tohka."

Nat shot up. "I'm going down there," he stated, before turning to leave.

Kannazuke was upon him before he even got out of the room. "No you're not, kid. If anything shows up that Origami hasn't accounted for, that gun's going off. You're staying right here."

Nat, frustrated, glared at his senior. "Someone needs to get down there and save them!"

Shaking his head, Kannazuke put Nat back in his chair. "You underestimate your partner. Just watch."

Kotori grinned. "He's right. We've got humanity's best chances for peace with the Spirits right in the thick of it. If anyone's gonna get out of this bind, it's my stupid big brother, your stupid partner and that stupid Spirit!" Despite the insults, Kotori's cry was a rallying one – one she made sure that Shido and Sam would hear.

* * *

They nodded at each other, putting their trust in the other's hands. Shido's in Sam's, and Sam's in Shido's.

By this time, the rest of the AST squad had regrouped and moved in to surround the classroom. Ryouko Kusakabe, after finally recovering from the short skirmish, landed behind Tohka and Sam. She scowled when she saw Origami. "I really hope you're about to give me a good reason for using a civilian as a hostage, Tobiichi," she demanded. Her tone was harsh; genuinely disgusted by the display she was forced to witness.

"Please forgive me for this, Ma'am. I will take full responsibility in the report. Your command status will not be threa-"

"I don't care about the report! I care about you!" Kusakabe cut in, flustered. She turned to Shido. "What's your name, sweetie?"

Shido looked over at the woman. "I-I'm Shido Itsuka, Origami's friend," he managed.

She let out a deep breath. "Okay, just stay calm, and you'll be okay. We're not gonna hurt you." She shot a look at Origami. " _Right?_ "

Origami stayed focused on Sam and Tohka.

"We'll talk later, Tobiichi." She walked over to Tohka and looked her in the eyes. She was shocked by the depth with which those eyes looked back. It was easy to animalise the enemy as long as you stayed far away from them, but, up close, the Spirits seemed awfully human. Kusakabe shook her head and swallowed her doubts. They _were_ the enemy, even if she didn't always agree with some of the methods involved. "I'll guess that even If I shot you point-blank like this, neither of you would so much as flinch, right?"

"Try it. Could help let off some steam," Sam joked. "Get some revenge for getting your ass kicked."

Kusakabe shook her head. "If you're looking for grudges, look elsewhere." She turned around and paced away from the pair, before pressing two fingers to her neck. "First Lieutenant Kusakabe, reporting. We've apprehended the Spirit and are ready for backup. Please send as soon as any are ready, over."

Then, without warning, Sam feinted a forward lunge.

Origami, perfectly alert, whipped the handgun downwards and fired.

**BANG**

Shido cried out in pain as the bullet smashed straight through his foot. What was left spilled blood down the new hole in the floor, staining the floor crimson. Kusakabe jumped out of her skin and wheeled round. Tohka gasped and choked on her breath. Sam stopped dead. The crew of the Fraxinus gaped at their screens, shocked at what just happened.

The shot's echo rang out, bouncing from wall-to-wall several times over. When it eventually stopped, all that could be heard was Shido's struggled breathing.

"Still think I'm bluffing?" Origami asked, coldly breaking the silence.

Kusakabe was speechless. All she could do now was watch as her mind tried to catch up. Tohka, similarly, was overcome with emotions that she'd never felt before. Her mind went blank

Sam, however, was overcome with only one emotion: relief. _"She took the bait; hook, line, and sinker."_ Now, if Sam was right, they all had an out.

Shido only managed to stay upright through the pain thanks to the support Origami's body offered. Without it, he was sure he would have collapsed by now. He felt the gun pressed against his head once more and winced.

"Don't worry, Shido. I'll definitely save you." Sam gave a reassuring smile. The boy noticed and did his best to return it.

Origami scoffed. "Don't be so sure of yourself, _monster_."

Sam pushed the girl's retort aside and thought hard. _"The average human's reaction time to visual stimuli is a quarter of a second, if they aren't distracted. I can assume Origami is significantly faster, so maybe a fifth of a second. From here, I could disarm her in about three-hundred milliseconds, but within that time she could easily pull that trigger, whether she wanted to or not."_ Sam studied Shido's foot. _"Again, it would take me about two-hundred milliseconds to take Kusakabe out of the fight, which might snap Tohka out of her trance. From there, we could easily deal with the rest of the squad members. The only problem, then, is distracting Origami."_ She focused on the boy's mangled foot, waiting for what she knew was going to happen. What had to happen. Please, let it happen.

A flame.

It was purple in colour, much like Tohka's power, and burned where Shido's foot used to be, lashing out with dark hues. It danced in the wind, flickering intensely as flesh and bone reformed within it.

A Spirit's magic, no doubt, which managed to catch the attention of Origami Tobiichi.

 _"Now!"_ Sam's pupils narrowed with an intense glare.

Once more, she transformed into a streak of colour and blur of motion, blasting towards Shido and his captive. Time slowed down as sparks danced up and down her body, lighting up her eyes and singeing her hair. In a flash, she was upon Origami, already snatching the pistol out of her hand. In the same motion, and with a hard **thwack** , she brought the grip of the pistol down on the bridge of Origami's nose, sending her to the floor, dazed and disoriented. As the girl fell, Sam whipped round, leaving a trail of after-images in her wake. She lined up a shot under Kusakabe's arm, aiming to disable her wiring suit without hurting the operator herself. She let a round fly down the gauss cannon on her shoulder, striking and disabling the suit while only grazing the side of Ryouko's chest. Lastly, bringing her body around in one more arc, she fired another round at Tohka's feet, kicking up wood shards and dust, and hopefully startling her into moving.

Four-hundred and ten milliseconds. Sam underestimated herself.

Almost simultaneously, Origami and Kusakabe spun to the ground, incapacitated. Tohka, a heartbeat later, sprung into action and thrust herself between Shido and the still-recovering AST. It took her a moment to realise it wasn't necessary. The rest of the squad looked on, stunned into complacency.

Shido, forced unconscious by the rush of pain in his foot, collapsed into Sam's arms. Sam herself gasped from the sudden exertion; lingering sparks fell down her body and shattered against the floor. The smell of smoke spiralled into the sky.

The crew of the Fraxinus let out a collective sigh of relief as their feed updated, showing the boy in Sam's grasp. Kotori tapped her intercom, linking directly into Sam's channel. "Good work. That's what we pay you for," she said, before letting out another sigh and sinking back into her chair.

Sam rolled her neck and shook her head, letting out a slight chuckle. "No, you don't pay me enough for this." She hefted Shido into a more comfortable position and snatched up Origami's assault rifle. She pointed it at the rest of the AST. "You lot, take your wounded and get out of here. You lost your advantage, and you do not want to get in the way of a very angry Spirit, correct?"

Tohka, as to prove Sam's point, made a show of flaring up with pink energy and purple flames, letting her power cascade over her.

Begrudgingly, the squad surrendered, and laid their weapons down before collecting up their fallen comrades. Few even glanced at the two.

"Yeah, yeah. Now scram! Get outta here!" Sam hurled at the retreating AST.

"You okay?" Tohka asked, letting her show of strength subside.

Sam's cheeks flushed red. "Mmm, I'm fine. I think the power just goes to my head sometimes."

Tohka sent a light punch into Sam's arm. "Don't let it consume you. You'll go crazy." Then, with a bright flare of energy, she 'became lost', vanishing back to wherever she came from.

Sam decided to heed that advice. Tohka probably knew a Spirit's power better than anyone.

* * *

The next day, Shido picked his way over rubble and rock, inspecting the damage the AST had caused. Bad weather during the night brought down even more of the cracked building. Strong winds and heavy rain helped keep him awake for most of the night. He disregarded the yellow 'keep out' tape and moved further into the wake of magical destruction.

"I was there when everything happened," Shido uttered to himself. "Still, the massive destruction just doesn't seem real." He scooped up a chunk of blackboard; 'Tohka' had been carved into one side. "But, yesterday was real."

"Shido."

"I really did talk with Tohka, and give her a name." He traced the writing with a finger.

"Hey, Shido."

Shido took a deep breath. "Crazy…"

"Quit ignoring me!"

The voice finally fell upon open ears, and Shido pivoted on his foot to meet the voice. There, clad in her armour, was Tohka, looking down at him from atop a pile of rubble. "Tohka!"

"You just now noticed me?" the Spirit asked, before giving a wide smile. "Wow, you are so dumb!" She hopped down, landing with a metallic **clink-clunk**.

"How did you end up back here? The alarm never went off!"

"Why would it? You were the one who invited me back…for a _date_ , I think? Well, guess what! It's time for that date! Let's go, let's go, let's-go-let's-go-let's-go-let's-go!"

Shido recoiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "Alright, just bring it down a bit!" Shido made an exasperated face as he pointed at her ornate armour. "And you should probably get out of that, first. Do you mind changing?" he mumbled.

Embarrassed, Tohka looked away. "Right now? You want me to undress in broad daylight?"

"No, that's not it!" the boy stuttered. He produced the picture that Origami had given him. "Let me show you an example."

Tohka studied the picture, before tensing up as she recognised the girl in it. "It's that girl! I swear I'll-"

"Tohka! The outfit, please…"

With a sigh, Tohka ripped the picture in half. "Very well…" Bringing her hand up high into the sky, the girl flexed her palm out wide. A moment later, a pillar of light which streaked down from the heavens engulfed her. Shido winced and covered his eyes, shielding them from the intense glow. Not more than another moment later, Tohka reappeared, now shrouded in a uniform similar to Shido's own. It fitted neatly, and the dark tones of her black blazer and blue pleated skirt helped to compliment her shadowy hair, which was now tied-up with a red ribbon and resulted in a wavy array of tails falling down her back. Around her neck was more ribbon, knotted loosely under her shirt's collar and left to lay against her chest. Warmly, she smiled. "How does this look?"

Shido fumbled over his words. "Umm, good…"

"Glad you think so! Now, it's time for our date!" With that, Tohka bounded off, beckoning Shido to follow.


	7. Date duty

-Chapter 7, Date duty

Tohka, face pushed up against the glass window of the bakery and cheeks puffed out with frustration, glared at the overlapping curves of golden brown. It looked so enticing, but try as she might, the tricky forcefield kept her from inching closer. She squirmed and pushed and shoved, but it was all so far out of reach. "Shido, what's in here?! Is it a date?!" She had to pause between each word to breathe. "Tell me!"

* * *

With a faint twinkle of a bell, Shido returned with a brown paper bag nestled in the crook of his arm. It carried a sweet, soothing scent, which Tohka's nose hungrily followed. "Here ya go," said Shido, gesturing for Tohka to take one of the loaves. Now even closer, the smell overwhelmed the poor girl, estranged to such things.

Finally, she could inch closer, mouth drooling as she crept along the bench. "Is this a test? Am I about to fail?" she sang.

"No, it's for you." Shido chuckled. "And stop drooling."

Without a second's more hesitation, Tohka lunged forward and chomped down. Her teeth broke apart the crust, releasing an explosion of sweetness that forced her to gasp. "Wow!" she cheered as the taste washed over her, knocking her back. She munched down on what was left, seemingly determined to finish it as quickly as possible. Then, mouth full, she asked, "Is this one of those date things?"

"No, it's bread." Shido found himself sighing out of pity.

Once finished, Tohka licked her fingers clean. "Okay…?" she queried. "Is that another name for 'date'? I don't understand how something so delicious can't be called a date."

Shido winced. "You can call it one if you want."

"Fascinating," she mused. "Even though this was delicious, it's still not good enough to be called a date." Tohka cupped her chin, but her train of thought was derailed by the new smell that wafted past. She bolted up and dashed after its source. "There's one!" she exclaimed.

"Not quite," Shido corrected; arm outstretched in a wasted effort to stop her mad sprint.

At that next stall, they bought a bundle of fried snacks and continued on into the city, Tohka nibbling on them while they walked. As they turned a corner, Tohka's breath caught in her throat. "All these people! Is this war?!" Food still suspended from her teeth, she readied an attack at the tip of her finger. "Just in case, I better attack before the mecha-mecha squad gets-"

"No, wait! You don't want to do that!" Shido grasped the Spirit's hand and tried to lower her aim.

Tohka pushed back. "Why are you stopping me? I'm trying to save us!"

"I'm not!" Shido shot back. "There's nothing to save us from! No-one's gonna hurt us." He let go and, despite the seething look he got from the girl, watched the energy fizzle into nothing.

Their little exchange was interrupted by a small boy who passed a paper wrap into the correct bin beside him. "Look, mama! I threw it in the trash all by myself!"

His mother came over and petted his head. "Wow, what a good boy you are." The boy giggled.

Tohka's eyes flashed with realisation and hastily finished the snacks she had. She crumpled up the paper bag, rushed over, pushed it through the opening and dropped it inside, then rushed back to Shido, gesturing for him to pet her too.

Shido did so tentatively, turning Tohka's cheeks a joyful pink. She looked back up and asked, "What about right now? This moment. Is this a date?"

"Not really," he replied, "but, you're getting closer."

"Dates are complicated matters…" the girl trailed off in thought, before once more having her train of thought derailed by the chance of more food. "Look, that thing over there looks yummy!" She rushed off down the street in the direction of more stalls and stores.

"How in the world are you still hungry?" Shido asked as he took off in pursuit.

* * *

As the boy pounded down the street after the food-crazed girl, Origami peeked around the corner. The readings were clear. That girl was a Spirit. She watched them go, picking over her own thoughts and questions, before holding a hand up to her neck. "Master Sergeant Tobiichi reporting. I've identified a possible target. Please deploy a surveillance device to sector 3-B."

"Roger that. It's on its way."

She stalked closer behind them, darting from alleyway to alleyway in order to stay hidden.

"Ninety-eight point seven percent match. That's way too high to be a coincidence, of course." Kusakabe scanned the statistics on her display. "No quake, though. Odd."

"She isn't wearing her Spirit Armour right now. If we're going to attack, now's the time to do so," Origami stated, watching as the girl bit into a cone of ice cream, before sharply recoiling from the jolt of cold.

Kusakabe shook her head. "Think about where you are right now. The AST is supposed to be secret, remember?"

Origami gritted her teeth, then set off in pursuit again as they started to drift away.

"Are you listening to me, Origami? If you act recklessly I will pull you out." Kusakabe's voice was stern.

"Affirmative," she grumbled.

* * *

As the day approached noon and the pair started to coast away from the city centre, they entered a more rural part of Tenguu. Here, the houses were bigger, the grass was greener, and the food was much more expensive. One particularly well-known restaurant was the Yamazaki. Infamous for both its food _and_ its prices. Tohka stopped outside its oaken doors and gawked at the impressive sight.

"What kind of place is this?" she demanded.

Shido's spine straightened. "Uhhh, an expensive one…"

"I don't know what that means," The Spirit said, filling her ears with the promise of things to be learnt. "I'm going in!"

Itsuka panicked at the conviction in Tohka's voice. "No, wait, hold-"

"Well, if it isn't Shido?" A voice came from their left, and Shido pivoted to see who's it was. Standing there with his hand up in greeting was Shido's only real friend from school, Hiroto Tonomachi. However, once he noticed Tohka, he rushed forwards and wrestled Shido close. "What do we have here?" he muttered, too quiet for the Spirit to hear. "That's some hot action. How did _you_ manage to pull that kind of tail without me knowing about it? I'm a little jealous." He feigned pain as he poked Shido's cheek.

Shido tried to back out of his friend's intruding grasp. "Yeah, a lot has happened, I guess."

They both turned to glimpse Tohka disappear between the double doors.

"Ooo, and straight off the top of the shelf," he teased. "It's cool, man. My girl's got some pretty expensive taste too!" He whipped out his phone and thrust it at Shido's face.

He grimaced. _"Right, his virtual girlfriend."_

"Listen, I wanna help you." He snatched two tickets out of the breast pocket of his school blazer. "A friend gave these to me, but I think they'll help you impress your new girl and help you score later." With a dazzling twirl and sparkle of light, he pushed the tickets into Shido's hands. "You're welcome in advance!" he cheered, before dashing off. "See ya later, bud."

Shido sighed as he watched Hiroto shrink into the distance, then jumped as he felt a tap on the shoulder. "Sam?" he asked as he turned around.

"The one and only," she replied with a light flourish. She wore a simple outfit of blue jeans and a black tank top.

"Why are you here?"

Sam made a face and cocked her hips to one side. "No 'thanks for saving me' or 'how you holding up'?"

Shido's gaze faltered. "Right, sorry. I'm glad you're alright." After the battle, Shido had fallen unconscious, and hadn't seen Sam until now.

"Don't stress it. I'm here because AST battle-chatter has the higher-ups spooked. You'll find most of the crew in there already, actually." She pointed to the restaurant behind him.

"You think the AST knows Tohka is here?" he asked.

"It's very likely," she replied, confirming his suspicion. "I doubt Tohka would mind if I tagged along for a bit."

"Mmm, she did ask where you were, earlier."

"Best not keep her waiting, then."

"Right."

Inside, the Yamazaki was every bit as high-class as it seemed from outside. Elegant chandeliers swung from sloping arches and illuminated the painting-adorned walls. Deep shades of brown mixed with clean white and the occasional touch of marble that seemed to sparkle with the glow of artificial candle light. Lastly, underfoot was a hearty-crimson carpet that effortlessly contrasted the bright colours and complemented the dark.

"How are you two, today?" Reine prompted, dressed in the establishment's uniform.

"Reine? What are you doing here?" Shido whispered, caught off-guard by the women's presence.

"Checking on Princess. I'm making sure that we're not at risk of a spacial quake." Reine held her finger up toward a table at the window. "She's been waiting for you over there."

"Over here, Shido!" She waved at him from the other side of the room. "Why are you so…" then, she trailed off. "Sam?"

Sam leaned over and peeked around from behind Shido's shoulder. "Hey, Tohka. How you feeling?" She asked as they made their way over and took their seats at the table.

"You made it," she spoke, more subdued now.

"I rushed over as soon as I heard you were back." A simple enough lie to make sound convincing.

"I wanted to thank you," Tohka began, her voice honest, "for what you did yesterday. Without you, I think Shido could have been hurt a lot more. I lost it, but you kept calm. In the end, you protected both of us, just like you said."

Sam was touched, and a warm smile formed along her lips. "You're very welcome, Tohka. It's not only my duty to protect you two, but also my desire. You'll always be safe with me."

"Speaking of which…Shido, do you know what happened?" Tohka asked. "I was sure you'd been hurt, but then there was that flame and…"

Shido shook his head. "Unfortunately, I don't. I passed out not long after I felt a burning sensation. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help."

"Kotori told me that it might have been _your_ power, Tohka. Perhaps you healed him without realising it?" Sam put forward.

"Maybe. It's the only time that power could have manifested, I guess." Tohka suddenly jolted upright. "Wait, Kotori? Who's that?"

Sam's eyes widened. _"Crap! I was so focused on lying that I let slip the idea that there were more people involved!"_

"Sam?" Tohka prompted.

"Nothing, nothing. That's, uhhh, just what I call the voice in my head! I know, I'm strange. Ignore me!" Sam flapped her hands about wildly as she clamoured for an excuse. At a stretch, she wasn't technically lying. She had definitely heard the Commander's whiny tones complaining at her long through the night after one event or another.

"Oh, I-I see," Tohka replied, baffled.

While Tohka and Sam caught up, Kotori strode over, her hair tied up in two black ribbons and also adorned in the restaurant's uniform. "Speak of the devil," Sam muttered.

Shido glanced up. "Ko-"

Sam clamped his mouth shut with lightning speed, thankful that Tohka was too absorbed in the menu to notice. "This looks so good, but so does that one. I wonder which of these is the date." The Spirit's lips were pursed in thought.

"Hey, if you guys can't choose, I've got something that might just help. The 'How About This?'," Kotori offered.

"What does that one come with?" The three asked in unison.

"I'm glad you asked!"

What felt like a heartbeat later, dish upon dish of various meats, pastas, and sweets came rolling out of the kitchen and piled up on their table. Just the sight of so much food made Sam and Shido nauseous. Tohka, on the other hand, was practically rabid from the flood of sights and smells, and had already dived her fork into the bowl of spaghetti, rapidly vacuuming it up. "Mmm, this is weally goob!"

"Tohka, swallow." Shido gave a disapproving look.

Sam just chuckled and shook her head, then started on a cut of pork. Shido sighed and followed suit, working on a plate of curry.

Thanks to Tohka's insatiable appetite, the three of them were finished within thirty minutes, and it seemed that the Spirit was finally full. She relaxed and sunk into the booth, content with herself. "That was all so delicious, Shido. Was that the date?" she asked.

"Nope," he replied. "Not quite."

Tohka puffed her cheeks out, annoyed. "Am I close, at least?"

"Well, dates are a food too," Sam mumbled. "Like raisins."

"I'm sure you'll find out soon," Shido reassured.

"Hey, Shido," came Kotori's voice down the boy's earpiece. "I need you to take Tohka south and towards the outskirts of the city."

"Why? That's just further into the residential area," he questioned.

"Just trust your little sister, okay?" she pleaded.

"Fine, fine," he huffed, before turning to Tohka. "You about ready to go?"

She nodded eagerly.

"And you?" he asked, looking over at Sam.

"Where we headed, chief?" she replied.

"South. Sounds like we've got something planned for us."

"South?" Sam racked her brain, then quickly perked up. "Ah, I know."

"Really?" Shido's eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"Yeah! I helped build it, after all!" Sam stuck her tongue out and sprung up. "Let's go!"

* * *

They hit the road once more, heading away from the Yamazaki and towards the outskirts of the city. By this time, the sun had started it's long arc into the horizon. Spring afternoons didn't last long in Tenguu city, thanks to the surrounding hills. Unbeknownst to them, the gears of change started grinding beneath their feet. What was once an expansive suburban area was hastily transformed into a lengthy shopping arcade. Its main road stretched on into the distance, flanked by stalls and shops of all kinds, much of which sold food. A colourful sign folded out of the ground and locked into place, marking the entrance at the foot of the bridge. Sam, Shido and Tohka still had a short trek ahead of them, however, and now that the Spirit had sobered up a little, Sam felt more confident chatting to the girl.

"Hey, Sam?" Tohka asked.

"What's up?" came Sam's brief reply.

"Why aren't you wearing your armour today?"

Sam looked back at the Spirit. "What are you talking about? We're perfectly safe here."

Tohka protested. "But, the mecha-mecha squad could be here any minute! I bet they're just biding their time for when my guard is down." Nervously, her eyes darted around.

Sam smiled wearily, before playfully ruffling the girl's hair. "They're not gonna attack us. They wouldn't risk an assault in broad daylight. There's far too many witnesses."

"Witnesses?"

"Of course. Spirits, the AST, the truth behind spacial quakes. It's all kept secret from the public."

Tohka blinked twice, confused.

"Those people you saw? They have no idea you exist. They don't even know that magic exists, or that the Armed Forces are packing enough firepower to make Arnold blush."

Shido froze. _"The actor?!"_

"That's why I don't wear my armour. It would attract a lot of unneeded attention," Sam finished.

"So, the mecha-mecha squad-"

"-AST." Sam interrupted.

"They're the only humans that know about me?"

"Apart from me, Shido, Nat, and a couple others, pretty much." Sam shrugged.

Tohka's gaze fell downwards. She wasn't sure whether she should be relieved and feel safe, or feel even more uncomfortable and alien.

"Hey, chin up, you." Tohka brought her eyes back up to see Sam dramatically flourishing with her arms out wide. "That just means you've got an entire world of people to meet, sights to see, and food to eat!" Sam winked at the girl as her smile grew wide.

Tohka's expression softened. "Sounds good," came her earnest reply.

"And we'll be there to guide you through all of it, so don't go thinking you're alone," Shido added, jabbing a thumbs-up in her direction.

Tohka smiled. "Thanks, you two."

"I didn't know you were so suave, Sam," Nat cut in, observing the whole situation from aboard the Fraxinus.

She just closed her eyes and waggled her tongue.

* * *

The arcade was every bit Sam remembered, and she recognised most of the staff as Ratatoskr's forces. While the Fraxinus was the command center of the whole operation, and a kind of advanced forward operating base, Ratatoskr's headquarters (and shipyard, by extension) where located elsewhere. Even Sam didn't have the clearance to know where that was.

The three of them swung by most of these stores with Tohka still inhaling everything in sight. Sam couldn't help but laugh at the Spirit's antics, as it seemed she never ran out of energy (or space in her stomach, for that matter) and was by far and away the driving force of the date. Shido trailed behind, making up the back of the group, brow constantly furrowed at every new development.

Crêpes in hand, they slowly migrated beyond the extent of Ratatoskr's influence. Hugging the river that ran through the city would eventually bring them back to the station. Shido wanted to show Tohka something he knew she'd never forget and, in Tenguu City, there was only one place he had in mind. "Sam, how was any of that possible?" the boy whispered.

Sam watched Tohka's back as she proudly strode on ahead. "Most of those houses aren't occupied, and the ones that are are Ratatoskr personnel. They can be folded up and replaced using similar systems to the spacial quake shelters."

"Just how big is Ratatoskr, then?" he added.

"It's big. Especially in Tenguu. You can thank the Spirits for that," she answered.

"Does the AST know about it?" An obvious question.

"I believe so, but even those maniacs aren't willing to attempt a full assault." Sam flashed a confident grin. "I like to believe I'm the reason for that!"

"Seems convenient."

"Having proprietary cloaking technology helps a ton," she clarified, gesturing to the earpieces they both wore. "They never know where we're gonna pop up next."

Shido opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a rocketing shiver down his spine. He reached up and felt the back of his neck, wetting his fingers. "Rain?"

As if to answer his question, the heavens suddenly opened up into a fierce downpour. Tohka came rushing over, unsure of where to take cover. "What's with this rain? It was clear a second ago," she complained, hiding the crêpe under her jacket to keep it from getting soaked and ruined.

Shido grabbed Tohka's hand and broke into a sprint, leading her towards a gaming arcade that he knew wasn't too far from here. Sam shadowed close behind, her feet sending cascades through the thin film of water that already covered the pavement.

* * *

"Origami, can you hear me?"

Tobiichi held two fingers up to her neck and squeezed gently. "Affirmative. Go ahead, ma'am."

"I've managed to squeeze mobilisation from the top brass," Kusakabe informed. "Meet us at overwatch point Bravo-Charlie."

Origami saw the Spirit run off after Shido and that ever-interfering girl. Watching the Spirit act all friendly towards _her_ boyfriend made Origami's blood boil. "Send an emergency arming device to my location. I'll transmit coordinates."

"Don't do anything brazen, and be sure to meet us in fifteen."

"Roger that."

* * *

They skidded to a halt outside an onslaught of bright lights and upbeat music. Thankfully, the entrance was covered, and the three of them huddled under it for a moment, before Shido and Tohka fell inwards and landed in a hump. They laughed guiltily to each other before dusting themselves off and beginning to explore further inside, beckoning Sam to join them. However, she merely waved them off. Something else had caught her eye.

Standing a short distance from her and looking longingly into one of the claw machines was a small girl with strikingly blue hair, just like Sam's own. She was also cloaked in a green, patchwork coat, reminiscent of a rabbit with button eyes and a fluffy tail. The detail was stunning. Sam ducked down onto her haunches and tapped the girl's shoulder, then asked if she was lost.

The girl turned around to face Sam, before quickly shaking her head.

Sam noted the girl's incredible, sparkling eyes, framed by her small face and soft complexion, then stood back up and grasped the machine's controls. She flashed a self-assured smile at the girl, before inserting the small amount of change she had – just enough for one go. The girl stared back with bewilderment as Sam's hand danced over the controls, manipulating the crane with an inhuman level of precision. No more than a few moments later, a cuddly rabbit toy came tumbling out of the crane and into the prize basket. Sam offered it to the small girl.

She looked up at Sam and gratefully accepted the offer, reaching out to take it. It was then that Sam noticed the puppet wrapped around the girl's left hand. "You really like rabbits, huh?"

The girl and her puppet nodded happily, before sprinting off into the rain, the girl's rubber boots throwing up splashes as she ran into the night. Sam grinned and, just like that, forgot all about Reine's warning.

* * *

Shortly after the girl Sam met had left, the sky cleared up and the clouds dispersed, leaving the city to bask in the warm orange glow of the evening sun. Sam met up with Tohka and Shido once more, and despite her surprise at the giant soft toy Tohka was clutching, things seemed to be normal. They reached the station at last and took a tram up into the rolling hills and forests that surround Tenguu City, giving Tohka a short while to rest against Shido's arm. Sam giggled, then fell into a brief nap herself, enjoying the early summer warmth.

After one last trek while the sun grazed the horizon and the air was filled with the sounds of chirping crickets and far-off cars, they made it; the place Shido promised.

The outcrop was high above the city, nestled deep into the surrounding bowl. Flanked on both sides were acres of trees and grassland that blew gently in the lazy wind. Shido and Tohka stepped forward to the edge and leant over the chest-high railings, cold to the touch. They drank in the view, stunned by what they saw: a picturesque view of the whole city below. A flurry of lights and people below a shining ball of hope. Sam, meanwhile, observed from afar, sticking to the shadows toward the back of the play area. She figured it was time to lay low.

"Oh, wow!" Tohka cheered, softer than usual. She gazed over the sight before her, in awe at the golden glow. "Thank you. I had so much fun today!"

Beside her, Shido also stared out over the view below them, taking in the magic feeling it left in his core. "Mmm, me too. Thanks for coming."

"But, Shido, the day is almost over and I still didn't see a date," the girl spoke. "Can you tell me what one is like?"

"A date is just when a girl and a boy go out and have a good time together. You can't actually see one," he answered, watching the girl out of the corner of his eye.

Tohka's face brightened. "Oh, that makes sense! In that case, I'd say we had a wonderful date, today!" she chirped.

"Heh, sure," he agreed.

The Spirit paused, truly content with herself at last. "I like dates, they're nice."

* * *

"Not good. I can't believe what I'm seeing." Kusakabe stared down her binoculars at the boy and the Spirit as Origami fidgeted with her rifle below. "A Spirit shows up without a spacial quake and then connects with a human boy."

Tobiichi, lying prone on a neighbouring outcrop just over five-hundred metres away from the target, lined up her scope. "Permission to shoot, ma'am?"

Kusakabe replied, tiredly. "Not yet. Still waiting to hear from the top." She adjusted her view of the Spirit, magnifying her vision to show the subtle movements of violet hair in the almost-non-existent wind. "This is a very unusual situation. No-one's been evacuated and we can't afford to make a scene." Just as she finished speaking, new instructions made their way through her headset. "Kusakabe here. What happened? What?! We've got permission to shoot?!"

Origami quickly glanced in her superior's direction, who could only muster an apprehensive nod.

_"If that boy is here, then that girl can't be far behind."_

* * *

"All the humans were very kind today," said Tohka as she turned to face Shido.

"No-one tried to kill you, did they?" he joked, looking back at the purple-haired girl.

"Yeah, you're right." At the edge of her vision, something far below caught her eye. It was Shido's school. She remembered it from when they met, yesterday, but more specifically, it was the crater that remained carved into the field which grabbed her gaze. "I never knew the world was so kind. So much fun, and so beautiful. I love it here," she continued, sharp breaths starting to break up her speech. "And now, I think I realise why the mech- AST is after me." Her face and voice became pensive. "Because, whenever I appear in this world, something bad happens. I destroy something beautiful. I ruin your world."

Shido cut in, worried about where Tohka's thoughts were headed. "That's not true," he offered.

All Tohka could offer in return, however, was a weary smile. "So, listen. I've been thinking that it's better if I don't exist any more."

Shido gasped, before steeling himself and narrowing his eyes. "Don't say that! We're fine! There was no spacial quake today, was there?! You didn't _ruin_ anything!"

Tohka was unconvinced. "Yes, but, that doesn't mean there won't be one next time I appear. When I go back and fall asleep, I won't be able to control myself. I may even forget you, again…" She was especially unwilling to continue that thought.

"Fine, then I guess you just can't go back!" Shido pushed on. "Have you ever even tried?"

This gave the troubled Spirit pause, but still, she didn't believe the boy's words so easily. "Even if I did, there are so many things I don't know about this world!" Tohka's voice was raised. Not with anger, but anxiety.

"I'll teach you whatever you don't know," Shido assured.

"Then-then I'd need food!" she stuttered. "And a place to sleep! What if something happens that we're not prepared for? What if you get hurt because of me, again?!" Her mind flashed back.

"I'm going to take care of you," Shido persisted. "If something comes up that we need to deal with, then we'll deal with it!"

Tohka stared down at her feet. "Are you sure? Am I even allowed to be here? Is it okay for me to be alive in this world?" She hugged the soft toy nestled in her arms even tighter.

"Yes, it is."

"But, what about them? The AST? That girl? If it's truly okay for me to exist here, then why are they so determined to kill me?"

"Because, they don't understand you like I do! Humans are scared of things they don't understand and can't control! It's not _your_ fault, it's _us!_ " Shido grit his teeth, suddenly flaring up with a flash of anger at the world that would try to hurt and kill the kindest person he had ever met. "It doesn't matter if everyone else rejects you! It doesn't change the fact that _I_ accept you and I don't want you to leave!" He offered his open palm. "Take my hand. That's the only job you have right now."

Tohka gazed intently at his hand, a million thoughts running through her head. At first, her hand was heavy, and she couldn't move it regardless of how hard she tried. "I..." She looked back up at Shido. The determination in his eyes washed her troubles away. Tohka's hand moved on its own towards his.

* * *

"Sam, I really don't like this."

Sam tapped her earpiece. "What's wrong?"

Nat studied the information on his screen. Checking and double-checking and triple-checking the words he was reading. The decrypted jumble of a transcript left a lot to interpretation. "It's the AST. They're up to something."

Sam cursed under her breath and quickly scanned the treeline. "Anything less vague?"

"No, their encryption is tight. We've only gotten through about twenty percent of their transmissions," he answered, slowly piecing together the messages he had to work with. "I'm not exactly an expert with this stuff."

"Just keep me posted. Any new develop-" There it was, caught in her throat. Every other feeling and thought process and word stopped to hang in mid-air, all to be replaced with the solitary feeling of dread.

Nothing but silence.

Without hesitation, her body took over and she bolted forward. Her mind could only think one thing.

_"I refuse to let them down."_

Origami's finger curled around the trigger. She let the round fly.

Tohka's hand brushed Shido's, putting her faith in the boy's grasp.

Sam launched herself at Tohka, praying that she would make it in time.

_"I refuse. I refuse! **I refuse to let them down again!** "_

_"I will help you, but do not thank me."_

Erupting with blue flame, Sam was kicked toward Tohka with one last burst of power.

Everything went white.

* * *

Tohka barely registered the feeling of being slammed in the side before bouncing off the railing and crashing into the paving of the outcrop, her stuffed toy sailing over the edge. Her body thumped with pain. Then, mind still reeling from both impacts, she heard what sounded like the crack of a whip sail into the night sky. She grimaced and forced herself up onto her knees, putting out her hands to-

**splash**

Tohka recoiled from the sudden warmth and glanced down at her shaking hands. They were covered in the colour of a life cut short. "Red…" was all she managed as she slowly looked up. There, laying in a pool of crimson, was Samanya, unmoving. Behind Sam, in far less focus, was Shido, horrified at the spray of blood that had covered his body. His face was paler than the moon. "Sam…"

Origami's arms were leaden, leaving the rifle to clatter to the ground. It didn't matter that Sam helped the Spirits. Origami Tobiichi had killed a human. In her eyes, that made her no different than those she lived to kill.

The silence was choking. The smell of blood laced the air. Tohka could even taste it when she breathed. That metallic taste of death. The girl inched her way up onto her feet.

From here, Sam's body looked badly ripped up. The shot had cleaved a circular chunk out of the girl's sternum, and must have only missed her heart by millimetres. Blood soaked into her clothes. Her glasses lay cracked over empty eyes.

Tohka removed her blazer and carefully lay it over Sam's body, covering her eyes and the wound. She wasn't sure why, but it felt disrespectful to do any less for the girl who saved her life.

"You protected me, just like you said you would." Tohka's voice wavered. "You made sure that, with all your strength, I would always be safe. That I could live a happy life in this world with you and Shido." She teared up; body quaking. "But that doesn't matter any more, because you're gone now. Despite everything I've ever wanted, more people were hurt because of me." Tohka clenched her jaw with a mixture of anger and sorrow, then shouted to the sky, "I can only ever bring pain!"

She rose to her feet once more and thrust her hand out toward the heavens above, roaring with rage and despair. In response, the sky split open with a great crack of lightning and cacophony of thunder. Swirling winds shrouded the Spirit, and, with her arm still outstretched, a great bolt of malicious energy struck downwards, setting her ablaze with power and scorching her clothes to dust. "Adonai Merek!" Princess yelled as the blood of her fallen friend spiralled around her. Those heart-broken words summoned the glorious purple-and-yellow plating that had clad her entrance into this world. She was more than happy for them to see her off forever, too.

Finally, the sky shut close once more and the wind scattered beyond the hills. There the Spirit stood, glimpsing down at the girl with the blue hair's body. Anger like nothing before filled her veins. Sorrow unlike any past gripped her heart. She had something to fight for. Something to avenge.

A friend.

Stamping her heel down into the paving, a deep scar of cracks struck out from the earth and brought forth the awesome stone sheath of Sandalphon – its blade buried deep beneath the protruding handle. Tohka mounted the throne-like sheath and, while crying out the weapon's name, brought to bear its unrelenting might. Unfinished, Tohka descended from the scabbard's height and raised her sword up high. With one last phrase, she swept down, slicing the throne in two. "Halvanhelv, lend me your strength!"

The throne shattered into dozens of shards that reflected the evening light like crystals, then affixed themselves along the length of Sandalphon, morphing its silhouette into a malicious, single-edged zweihänder of subdued brown and rich black, easily triple in length. The sword shone red and screamed out for blood.

Shido could only watch as Tohka brought the blade down in a long, slashing motion, sending forth a slice of dark energy that dissected the opposite platform. The one side fell away and crumbled against the hillside, leaving just Origami at its edge. He looked down at Sam's body with anguish. "This is all my fault," he whispered.

"Origami, retreat immediately!" Kusakabe pleaded. "Get back, now!" Below her, still frozen with horror, Origami stared up at the Spirit who loomed over her. Her mind was devoid of thought. Her ears were deaf to her senior's pleas. "Support troops, what's going on?!" she demanded, but got no answer, so she tore off her headset and tossed it aside. "I won't let her die down there," she stated, blasting off to her comrade's aid. She knew Tobiichi would do the same for her.

Tohka glared down at the white-haired girl, threatening to melt her down to ash with her stare alone. "It was you. You were the one who killed my friend. You were the one who ripped away her life. Just admit it."

"Yes, I killed her." Origami couldn't lie even if she had the capacity to want to.

"Say her name!" Tohka shouted.

"I-I don't know it!" Origami spluttered.

"You took another person's life without so much as learning their name?! Was it easier to pretend they were just some obstacle in your way?!" Tohka's sword crackled with purple energy.

"Yes," was all Origami managed to say.

"You make me sick. For that, you must die!"

* * *

Sirens blared and alarms wailed aboard the Fraxinus. Ribbons of text spouting various warnings and precautions wrapped around the bridge, ignored by the crew as they hastily reported on new events.

"I'm not reading a pulse for Sam," shot Shiizaki.

"The spacial quake alarm is going off, no thanks to Tohka," Nakatsugawa stated.

"Resident evacuation is still at seven percent!" Mikimoto declared.

Hinata had already taken off, gunning for the teleporter room. Kannazuke hadn't even tried to stop the boy. There was too much fire in his eyes.

Kotori glanced between her monitors. "We're lucky there aren't any houses nearby, but at this rate, the whole town will be eradicated within minutes. I guess that's why they call it the 'Sword of the End'."

"Excuse me, ma'am, but what have we heard about Sam and Shido?" Mikimoto interrupted.

"Don't worry about her. As long as Shido's down there, we'll be fine," dismissed Kotori. "Where'd the kid run off to?"

"Teleporter," Kannazuke answered. "Doubt he's got a plan in mind, though."

"Let's just wait and see."

Reine looked down at the tiny commander, wondering why she was being so passive. _"Overconfidence? Something else?"_

* * *

Nat sprinted towards his collapsed partner and slid down beside her, throwing up waves in the pool of blood. "No, Sam! Please, God, no!" He cradled the girl's head. "Please, don't leave me!"

Shido finally found the fortitude to clamber onto his feet, but all he could do was stare helplessly at the enraged Spirit. "Don't let her death be in vain, Tohka! Snap out of it!" he shouted, holding out a feeble hope of his voice landing on open ears.

"No, she's not dead! I won't believe it! Not after all that work she put in!" Nat pressed his hands to her chest. _"What the hell am I doing? CPR?"_ Clinging to any desperation he had left, Nat began to compress what remained of the girl's chest. "Come on! You have to come back to us! You're our only hope, damn it!"

Shido dashed as close as he could to Tohka without throwing himself over the edge and screamed out, praying that she would hear his voice. He screamed and screamed and screamed.

But got nothing back.

Tohka barrelled down on Kusakabe. In a valiant effort to save Origami, Kusakabe had thrust herself between the frozen girl and the Spirit's relentless assault. Her shield flashed with every dark impact. Her feet were buried into the ground. Her eyes were clenched shut, knowing that she'd break soon. Behind her, Origami slumped to the ground, already accepting her fate. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears. Tohka's shrieks filled the air.

"Please! Sam! You saved me once, now let me return the favour!" Nat smacked the girl's chest in futile panic. "Please, anybody, help her!"

_"Sam must live for both our sake. I will help you, just this once."_

Suddenly, he felt a buzzing feeling in his stomach like static. He felt it spread out through his body, along his arms, down his legs. It pricked under his skin, sending tingles down his spine. It pushed against the back of his eyes, pain sparking in his brain. It focused at his hands, frantically wanting release. His core shook violently, tossing and turning and cascading and churning. He screwed his face up in concentration, desperately trying to expell the pain welling up inside him.

All at once, the energy build-up lashed out of his hands and into Sam's still heart.

* * *

Sam threw her head up, forced conscious by external will. She gasped and clawed at her chest, scrabbling at the great pain that lingered, before being forced to gag as her hand passed through where her body should have been. "Wh-what the-?" she stammered, her heart in her throat.

Nat dived at the girl, tightly wrapping his arms around Sam's shoulders. "You're back! You're really back!"

"Ah, Nat! That hurts!" Sam struggled on her own breaths, but managed to return the favour. Her arms were too weak to hold the embrace for long, however.

"I was so worried I'd lose you forever…" sobbed Hinata, drawing away from the sensitive wound. Whatever energy he drew on had managed to cauterize the wound, but he didn't expect it to hold for long. Still… He looked back up at Tohka. "Sam, you're the only one who can stop her. She thinks you're dead."

Sam grunted. "I should be."

Nat sighed and glanced away. "Always the damn comedian, huh?" Despite his complaint, the boy couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, you should be."

"Gonna help me up?" After being hoisted up from the lake of red, she leant heavily against Nat, her face reflecting the searing pain she felt in her torso. "Come on-" she took a sharp inhale, "let's get this day over with."

Nat swallowed his pride and nodded. He knew Sam was working-minded, and it was obvious she was grateful, even if her brain hadn't truly caught up yet, but he still felt a touch let down at the girl's single-track mindset.

Pointed in the direction of Tohka, they shuffled on, yelling out to Shido as they went. He spun around, mouth dropping open as he noticed the very-much-alive Sam. "You're alive?" he blurted.

"Nice to see you too, Shido," Sam replied as they drew near.

Shido scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed for being so blunt. "Glad you're up." He moved to help Sam stand, propping her up opposite from Nat. "Kotori, what now?"

Kotori hesitated. A troubling beast had just reared its ugly head. "You need to get Tohka's attention."

"How?" he asked.

"How should I know?" Kotori whined.

"Real helpful!" Shido shouted back.

"Hold on, I got this." Sam held out her hand, and using what little strength she had left, concentrated on her palm. Her face twitched with focus. "Think of it...as a little present...from Origami Tobiichi!" The assault rifle from yesterday materialised in her weak grasp, hanging loosely from her slipping fingers. Still, she hefted it into the nook of her hip and pointed it up at the Spirit. Her sword was raised high, preparing for one last blow.

**CRACK**

Sam's finger curled around the trigger, recoil tearing the gun out of her hand.

The bullet smacked hard into the back of Tohka's head, but, just like Kusakabe had expected, the Spirit didn't even flinch. It did make her turn around, however, and that was all Sam needed.

"Hey, Tohka!" she yelled. "I'm a little upset that you thought I'd go down from something so small!" Her breath was becoming more laboured with every uttered word. "But, it's gonna take...a hell of a lot more than that...to stop me from protecting you!"

The Spirit backpedalled – if such a thing was possible when walking on air – at the sound of her raw defiance. "You're okay…" Tohka meant to say more, but her mouth just flapped uselessly.

"You're-" Sam collapsed onto her knees, clutching at her heart, but forced herself to look up. "You're damn right I am."

Tohka tore away from Kusakabe and Origami, revenge now the last thing on her mind, and all but crashed into the ground beneath Sam's feet. Within a moment of landing, Tohka lurched up to hug the injured girl. "I'm so glad you came back to me! To us!"

"Ow, ow. Lots of pain," Sam winced, feeling Tohka push against her wound.

"Ah, sorry!" Tohka tore herself from the girl, worried.

"Um, I hate to rain on everyone's parade, but what the hell is that?!" Shido cut in, finger thrust toward the blade clasped in Tohka's hand, dangerously close to his head.

The Spirit retreated, all of a sudden fearful of what she had released. "I accidentally unsheathed Halvanhelv!"

"How do you _accidentally_ unsheathe _that?!_ " Nat sputtered, also stepping away from the pulsating, sparking edge.

"I have to find somewhere to release it!" she cried.

"No, you definitely don't want to do that," Sam grunted. "You'll kill us all, regardless of where you point that thing." As if to exacerbate her point, the sword made a show of lashing out with purple lightning.

Tohka's eyes darted between the three of them. "Then what should I do?! It's already critical! If I don't release it now, then everyone will..." Despite her reluctance to finish her sentence, everyone got the picture.

Sam shot a look up at Shido, drawing Tohka and Nat's gaze to the boy. "There is one thing, but only he can do it."

"She's right," Kotori added. "The method we've decided to save for last. It's the only way you'll be able to save her."

Tohka rushed to Shido and grabbed his arms, before looking up at him with pleading eyes. "What is it? I'll do anything!"

The boy was uneasy as he opened his mouth. He knew what they were talking about, of course, but he was anxious of how Tohka would respond. "Alright, Tohka, listen. We have to kiss now, okay?"

"Wh-what?" the girl stuttered.

"Nothing. Forget it. I'm sorry. There has to be another way!" Shido's words came out in a tumble of consciousness; words tripping over words.

Tohka surged closer. "No, I just don't know what a kiss is! Tell me and I'll do it! I promise!"

Shido hesitated. "Um, well...it's where we put our lips together and then we-"

Broken off by the girl's sudden lunge, Shido's eyes widened as her lips met his. Deep within, Tohka felt her heart swell with emotions she'd never felt and didn't understand. Her body tingled with warmth. She closed her eyes and leant into the kiss with all she could.

A bright light closed around them, quelling Halvanhelv's rage and reducing the terrible blade to nought but a shower of sparkling dust. The girl opened her eyes once more and looked back at the boy, both sharing a silent feeling of compassion and surprise, before their footing was slowly taken from them. They rose into the sky, still bound to the other through affection, and as the kiss, like them, hung in the air, Tohka's armour disintegrated into a million pieces, leaving her body covered in nothing but the subtle pink glow of her power. They settled once more on firmer footing, overlooking the sunset that cast long shadows of the city below, when they finally pulled away.

Shido's cheeks were flushed red. "I'm so sorry! They told me this was the only way I could reverse it!"

Tohka, unable to meet Shido's eyes, looked deep into his chest and pulled herself closer. "Just don't let me go. I'm not ready for you to see me naked, yet," she murmured.

Shido squealed, finding words to be failing him right now.

After the lingering energy had been swept away by the warm breeze, Tohka mustered up the courage to ask an important question. "Hey, Shido? Will you, um...take me out on another date sometime?"

Shido smiled, tiredly. "Of course. Anytime you'd like."

Tohka looked up and, with possibly the most honest happiness Shido had ever seen, smiled widely, her eyes bright.

Sam let out a long, drained sigh, letting her body relax at last, then said, "God...I need a beer," before the world fell away from her and everything became static.


	8. The voice

-Chapter 8, The voice

Sam walked into her kitchen, gesturing for her guest to take a seat at the small breakfast table in the corner. The girl gladly obliged and made herself comfortable in the modest apartment. "Tea?" Sam asked.

The guest politely refused, "No, thank you. Don't let me stop you, though."

"Oh, sure," came a surprised reply. In fact, Sam didn't even really like tea that much, she had just been trying to be courteous. Subtly, she switched to making a pot of coffee. "So, do you have a name?"

"Mio. Mio Takamiya," the girl answered.

"Mio?" Sam stopped and cocked her hip out in thought. "Like, thirtieth?"

Mio nodded. "Mm-hm. Why do you ask?"

Sam shook her head, smiling. "Nothing, nothing. It's just that I've got a friend who'd get on well with you." She chuckled to herself.

Mio allowed herself to let out a quiet chuckle, too. "I think I understand."

Sam sat down at the table, facing her guest, then studied Mio more closely. Her hair was long, an almost-white shade of light blue, and flowed down to the seat of the chair, framing her soft blue eyes and confident, bubbly expression. She wore a zipped hoodie, left undone, over a frilly, light-coloured T-shirt, and a pair of loose-fitting shorts. Sam wasn't sure where to start. "So, umm, what can I do for you? Showing up at my door was kind of a shock, if I'm being honest."

To this, Mio just poked out her tongue. "Actually, I think we can both do something for each other."

"Excuse me?" Sam queried.

"Tell me, how confident are you on the topic of Spirits?"

Sam's stomach dropped, and found herself repeating her earlier question, "Excuse me?"

Unfazed, Mio repeated, "I said, how confident are you on the topic of Spirits?"

Cautiously, Sam replied, "Pretty confident, I suppose." Her eyes looked suspiciously at the girl.

"There's no reason to freak out, I promise. The sooner you get used to more people – and I mean a _lot_ more – knowing about the Spirits, the better," Mio assured, holding her palms up to show she was harmless.

After a moment's hesitation, Sam conceded and relaxed, letting her muscles ease up. "How do you know about them?" she asked.

"Well, that's pretty easy. I am one, after all," Mio replied. The face she got back from Sam made her acutely smug, but well-meaning.

"You-" Sam cut herself off with her own sudden recognition. "That voice… You're the one who helped me save Tohka, aren't you?"

"Yup, yup! But, I did tell you not to thank me," Mio reminded.

Obviously, Sam did remember. Those words still echoed in her ears like the ring of a bell. "Why, though? Why shouldn't I thank you?"

"You'll find out, eventually." Mio was unwilling to speak any more about saving Tohka.

Frustrated, Sam made a face, but did reluctantly let the topic go, only to replace it with another important question she had: "If you're a Spirit, then how come you're just out and about? A-and why did you come here, for that matter?"

"Ah, now that's a doozy!" Mio stood up and, with a snap of her fingers, dispersed Sam's kitchen into a million pieces, only to be replaced by an endless expanse of shadow.

Sam bolted onto her feet, her chair falling away from her and into the void below. It took her a second of panicking before she realised she could stand perfectly normally, despite the absence of a floor. "What the hell?!" she cried.

Mio looked sheepish. "I'm sorry, that was needless of me. I could of just told you."

"T-told me what?" Sam stammered.

Mio flaunted towards the endless expanse around them. "We're in your head, Sam. It's just you and I in here."

Sam snorted. "It's pretty empty." Then, she slapped her forehead. "What the hell am I talking about? You just said we were in my head!"

"This is correct. I only exist within your mind and your heart," Mio explained, her tone much calmer. "I have no physical form."

Sam took a deep breath and held her hand out to shush the girl. "I hope you know, you're dumping a who-o-ole lotta stuff on me, right now."

The Spirit's face brightened. "Yes, I do know, and I am sorry for that. I just figured that I might need to make an appearance after helping you and your friend." Mio noticed the confused look on Sam's face. "What, you thought that Nat boy helped you all on your own?"

"Being helped by a Spirit who only exists in my head wasn't my first guess, no," Sam replied, drily.

The girl laughed at that. "You've got quite the dry sense of humour, you know that?"

Sam nodded, waiting for the Spirit to explain.

"Yes, I helped your friend. For obvious reasons, I couldn't exactly let you die." Mio held her arms up to her sides, balled her fists, then drew inwards. The outcrop formed around them, complete with the sunset Sam remembered.

As an aside, Sam asked, "When do I learn how to do that?"

"I'll teach you...probably." Takamiya walked over to the edge and looked out over the railing in a similar manner to how Tohka had before. Sam sidled up next to the supposed Spirit.

"I'm curious, what does that mean for me?" Sam asked, gazing off into the twilight's far distance.

"How so?" Mio turned around and leant her back against the railings, arms crossed and looking over at the melancholy girl.

"I'm going to go off on a whim here, but I'm assuming not everyone has a Spirit inside them? So why me? Why am I special?"

For once, Mio had no answer. "I actually don't know. I didn't come here by choice, either. It kind of just...happened." She frowned.

Sam closed her eyes and dropped her head. "Well, as long as you keep getting us out of dire situations, I guess you can hang around inside my head for a while."

"Hah, thanks. I appreciate it."

The two went quiet for a little bit, both soaking up the spring breeze. It was an alarmingly accurate recreation of the setting on that day, and, fortunately, minus the body. That reminded Sam, there was more she wanted to ask. "How did you help Nat? Are you in his head, too?"

"No, but you've already seen the process before. I don't have to spell everything out, do I?" Mio hinted.

Sam gave Mio a dirty look, before combing over all she could remember about the Spirits and their powers. Transferring power? Was that a thing? "Oh! Tohka and Shido! If you've been here for at least a month, then when me and Nat kissed…"

"Bingo!" Mio gave a short round of applause. "Reiryoku, or Spirit Mana, depending on who you ask, works primarily on emotion, the strongest of which being love and anger."

"So, I reverse-sealed Nat?" Sam asked, perplexed.

"It's a bit more complex than that."

Sam frowned again, but it seemed Mio was unwilling to expand upon how it was more 'complex', so she stuck to that idea.

* * *

Hinata couldn't stop his leg from bouncing as he waited for the news from Kotori. Beyond the door to his right was the Fraxinus' medbay, and beyond that lay Sam, hooked up to a number of various medical devices. The door opened with a soft **swish** , followed by Kotori and Reine. Nat shot up. "How is she?"

Reine answered first, "She'll be okay."

"Yeah, that girl's a fighter. She'll be out for a week, though. Maybe longer," Kotori added, before offering to let the boy in. Anxiously, Nat entered the room, then rushed over to Sam's side as he saw her lying beneath a thick blanket.

He squeezed her hand. It was ice cold. "Are you sure she's gonna be alright?" he pressed, a chill dancing up his fingertips.

"I promise," Kotori reassured. "She said it herself, after all."

Nat recalled that scream. The sheer determination she had shown almost knocked him flat. Still…

"Come on, we've done everything we can for her, now. Let's go," the girl prompted, lifting Nat back onto his feet. "There's a few things you and I need to clear up too, you know." Kotori made to leave.

Before doing the same, Nat leant over and planted a kiss on Sam's forehead, once more feeling a tingling sensation from her icy skin. "You better come back to us, Sam." He closed his eyes and sighed, then followed Kotori back outside, sparing one more glance back before the doors slid shut.

* * *

Sam cracked her knuckles and hopped on the spot, rolling her head and shoulders and loosening herself up. Around them was Mio's best recreation of the Fraxinus' training hall, complete with a high ceiling, open space, and smattering of cover. "How's that?" Mio asked.

"That's pretty close!" Sam looked around at the new scenery, combing over the finer details, then nodding appreciatively at the accuracy. "Still, you definitely need to teach me how to do that."

"In due time, I will, but it's a little complicated." Mio focused once more, bringing her attention to Sam's body, and drawing on the image of her armour in her mind. With a satisfying **pop** of displaced air, it appeared, cladding Sam's body.

"Woah!" Sam turned her arms and hands over, inspecting her suit. "You're really good at this!" she cheered, flexing her fingers.

"I've had a lot of practice, being all cooped up in here for a year."

"A year?"

"Yup. Had the whole place to myself until you decided to go ahead and get shot." Making a cheeky face, Mio closed one eye and stuck her tongue out.

"Yeah, tell me about it. I'm surprised I'm even still alive." Sam scratched her head, thinking, before shaking the thought away. "Either way, I'm here. And, while we're stuck in my head, I could always get a bit more training in."

"Yes, yes. I'd be glad to help, but, don't think it's gonna be easy." Mio chuckled, then clenched her fists.

Sam cocked her head. "No Angel or Spirit Armour?"

"No, I won't need it."

Sam made a face. "Awfully confident," she whispered, eyeing up the Spirit as she made herself ready. The ArchAngel array on Sam's back stretched out, overlapping metal unfolding like a bird's wings. "Ready when you are."

"Likewise, Samanya. Likewise." Mio smiled, then charged.

A shockwave rippled throughout the hall; a testament to the speed on display. Sam had her arms up just barely in time to meet Mio's flying kick. It staggered Sam, sending her pacing back, before an impact from behind sent her tumbling forwards. She tucked and rolled, pushing down with her hands to flip back onto her feet. Mio, however, wasn't going to give Sam any time to rest, and was upon her again in the blink of an eye. A flurry of punches and kicks followed, stressing Sam's guard. She grunted under the rapid-fire hits, unable to find an opening in the Spirit's relentless assault.

Sam gritted her teeth and let loose a round from her gauss cannon, forcing Mio away. Dashing in, Sam followed-up with a fast uppercut that grazed Mio's cheek, then a left straight that went sailing past. Sam grimaced as Mio sidestepped and brought her elbow down into Sam's back. A crack rung out as she bounced off the ground, then another crack as Mio brought her knee up into Sam's ribcage. After being tossed twenty feet, Sam hastily stood up, her legs shaking from the sudden damage. Mio, once more, chased Sam down, unleashing an avalanche of energy as she came.

Sam's guard came up once more, shields sparking under the assault, her eyes clamped shut. _"Jesus Christ! I can't take much more of this!"_ Sam bore the forefront of Mio's attacks with all the defence she could manage, but she could feel her foot slipping. It edged back. She'd be off balance soon. Baring her teeth, the missile pods on her back opened up, and let loose a swarm of tiny warheads. They detonated around the two, throwing up a cloud of smoke and fire in an instant. It was like the hall itself belched forth the spire of flame that stretched up toward the ceiling, shrouding the two with searing heat. Blinded, Sam thrust her head forward, clashing her forehead against Mio's. Dazed, the Spirit stepped back, then caught Sam's gut punch. It lingered in her torso and forced her to double-over, leaving her in a prime position to take Sam's rocket powered kick to the chin. She staggered back, blood following the same arc as her head. But, Sam also wasn't about to give Mio a moment to rest, and came out of the smokescreen swinging.

**Crack!**

A hook to the temple.

**Bang!**

A shot to the face.

**Thwack!**

An arching kick to the arm that sent the Spirit flying.

Mio crashed into the wall, leaving a crater in the reinforced steel, then flopped to the ground. Sam looked on, drawing in heavy, broken breaths, her wings clipped from the explosions. Mio managed to tilt her head up from off the floor, and through squinting eyes, saw Sam's body sag. Had that final burst really done her in? Mio rose, putting one foot under her before collapsing to her knees. She tried again, this time getting a little higher before falling back.

"D-don't get up... Please..." Sam pleaded.

One last time, inching her left foot under her, Mio started to rise. She was shaky, and her favourite clothes were all torn up, but little by little, she clambered onto her feet. Now with one foot under her, she pushed against her knee, and slid her right foot into place. It buckled, but stayed firm, and dutifully supported her weight. Her right arm sagged uselessly, so she clenched her left hand into a fist instead. "Heh…" Mio took a long breath, almost slipping in the process, as she regained her strength. "I'm up…"

Sam narrowed her eyes, and with a grunt of effort, moved to attack the Spirit. To her horror, she didn't budge. Her suit was too damaged, and the servos in her legs refused to respond. Wings clipped and legs frozen, she couldn't move, and was trapped in her suit. All she could do now was hope that she didn't tip over and risk being crushed under its weight. She quickly took stock of her remaining ammunition. _"Twelve missiles, ten rounds but the cannon is busted. I've still got the two rotary cannons under my arms, but they're so bulky… And my plasma lances, which suck when I'm trying to conserve power."_ Sam sighed. _"Basically nothing, then."_

Mio limped toward Sam, a spear of light flickering above her hand.

Sam spun up the rotary cannons, a soft whir echoing about the room.

They drew near, and faced each other, what little offence they could each conjure up pointed at the other's throat.

"Back down, Sam. You lost," Mio advised, knowing full well the state the girl was in.

"Nuh-uh. As long as I'm still breathing, I'm not out. I made a promise and I intend to keep it." Sam steeled her resolve, but couldn't stop herself glancing down at her legs. She hoped the visor would hide her hesitation.

Mio sighed and shook her head. "Don't blame me for what comes next." She slung the spear at Sam, sending a cascade of energy over her. The armour took the brunt of the impact, but it wouldn't last, and Mio had many more coming. One after another, she slung those same spears, sending each one shattering against Sam's body. They twisted through the air, sending dazzling light in a thousand directions, before bursting with pure colour as they impacted, each exploding with sparks of pain. With each throw, Mio's grip slipped. How long was she gonna take this? It's just training! "Rargh!" Mio pitched back, preparing one last spear to end it off. She brought it high behind her, pointed straight at Sam.

Cracked, Sam's visor slid off her face and shattered against the ground. Behind it, were two hollow, sunken eyes. Mio paused and stared at those eyes. Sam's legs shook. Her arms dangled by her sides.

Yet, she stood. She stayed standing.

Mio's eyes widened. _"Wh-what are you doing?! She's still standing because of you! That's your courage!"_ The sudden realisation sent a sparkling feeling up her arm, and she struck out, embedding the spear in the ground beside Sam's broken form. Mio rushed forward and held Sam in her arms, nuzzling her head into Sam's cheek. "I-I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!"

Sam managed to part her lips, but her voice was dry and raspy. "Wh...what do you...mean?"

Mio held her tightly. All this had proven one thing to her:

"Every time you destroy yourself for others, it's my fault…"

"H-huh?" Sam whimpered.

Mio closed her eyes. "Nothing…"


	9. All's well that ends well, I guess?

-Chapter 9, All's well that ends well, I guess?

The hand covering Shido's head offered little shelter against the beating rain. His shirt, soaked through after his jacket's valiant attempts at keeping the rain away, clung tightly to him, freezing him to his bones. His teeth clattered from cold. "The weather forecast has been really off, lately," he groaned, remembering yesterday's showers too. "So much for only a ten percent chance of rain."

Looking for shelter, he eventually came to a stop beneath a tree, full with leaves and standing proudly within the local shrine. Surrounding him, tall wooden gates, or Torii, some painted red and others still a pale brown, dotted the shrine's courtyard, none reaching quite as high as the tree that provided some morsel of cover.

Beyond the shrine's grounds, however, towers of stone and steel stood even taller.

**Splash**

Shido turned just in time to see someone playfully dash through the clear puddle, sending a rippling echo of sound throughout the space, time slowing down as she bounced through the air. He watched the girl for a moment, her arms up behind her and head held high, then gasped as she crashed to the floor. He quickly moved to help her. "Hey, are you okay?"

With the boy's help, the girl rose back to her knees and tilted her head towards him, her long, bright hair covering her glistening, deep eyes.

Shido sighed with relief. "Good. You're not hurt?"

The girl recoiled and scrambled away from Shido, putting her back up against that same tree and retreating as far as she could. "P-please, don't hurt me," she whimpered.

Shido stood up, his expression guilty. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." From beneath her big green hood, Shido could feel those eyes staring right at him.

Tossed to the side by the fall, a small rabbit puppet looked on, watching the two from afar.

"Shido!" Tohka Yatogami, dressed in Raizen's uniform, burst through the door to Shido's homeroom, earning more than a few confused glances, first at her, then at the boy. She rushed inside and slammed a plastic container down onto Shido's desk, jostling the assorted faces and shapes inside. "We made these things called cookies!"

Shido flinched and edged back from Tohka's sudden outburst, all too aware of the looks coming his way.

"We were supposed to make them during cooking class, but I didn't know how, so the other students helped me!" She eagerly pushed the box toward him. "So, do you wanna try one?"

"S-sure," Shido said, tentatively moving his hand to take one from the box.

The sudden appearance of Origami stopped him in his tracks. Apart from the bandage on her cheek, she looked okay. No doubt thanks to Kusakabe. "Oh, hey Tobiichi."

Tohka recognised the name, and turned to confront her. "No way! You get out! Be careful Shido, that witch is going to do more damage…"

Tohka's screams subsided as Origami bowed low in apology. "I'm sorry for hurting your friend, Shido, although I know an apology is hardly enough."

Tohka slowly lowered her karate-chopping hands, but hung close by Shido's side.

Behind them, Ai, one of Shido's classmates, asked, "Why is the super genius apologising to him? What are we missing?"

Beside her, Mai, added, "Maybe he's got some dirt on her?"

Finally, Mii, finished off their collective thoughts. "That's so lame."

Embarrassed, Shido brought his shoulders up, trying to hide from their stares. "Oh, it's fine," he started, loud enough for the three to hear, "you can stop bowing now."

To this, Origami nodded gratefully, then turned to Tohka. "The reports said that you stayed. Tell me what you're still doing here."

The Spirit flared up. "That's none of your business!" She looked to Shido, prompting him again to have a cookie. "Now, focus, Shido. Forget about the stupid, ugly witch and eat my cookies."

Origami, not keen to be outdone so easily, slammed another box down onto the desk. "And mine. I baked some too." Unlike Tohka's, Origami's cookies were tightly organised, perfectly square, and decorated with chocolate in neat lines and borders.

"You need to stop copying me!" Tohka whined.

"Actually, I baked mine first, so you're copying me," Origami corrected.

"Wrong!" Tohka declared. "And look at your dumb cookies! I bet they suck." To prove her point, she quickly took one of them and bit down.

Unfortunately for her, as soon as she tasted it, the classroom fell away to be replaced by nothing but the overwhelming tingling sensation she felt on her tongue, and the warm, sparkling smell it left behind. She closed her eyes, longing to be one with the sweetness of the chocolate and the texture of the cookie. Her cheeks glowed a rosy red.

Shido had his face in his palm by the time Tohka returned to reality.

"Y-yeah, they're not all that great," Tohka stuttered, struggling to convince even herself. "Here, eat! Quick, before she tries to make you eat her junk!"

Origami cut in, presenting her box to the boy. "No, you should try mine, first."

Shido grumbled, before reaching into both containers and taking one cookie from each. He tossed them both in his mouth at the same time and started chewing. "Yum," he said as he finished, "they're both good."

Tohka grinned. "Mine must be better! He ate it much faster."

"Incorrect. He ate mine point-two seconds faster," Origami corrected once more.

"Excuse me? How could you even tell? You're lying!"

"I'm not lying. You're just hysterical."

Before the situation could get any worse, Tonomachi appeared, clutching a plastic bag full of cookies. "Hey, some strange little stranger just gave me a whole bag of cookies. Do you want one, Shido?" He held up his phone to them all, letting them see his pink-haired, virtual girlfriend giving an apologetic expression. "I'd ask her, but she's watching her figure."

Shido, Tohka, Origami, Ai, Mai, Mii, and the rest of the class all stared at him, completely speechless.

* * *

The rain refused to let up for the next few days, and every afternoon, Shido found himself sprinting home under the furious downpour. He never saw that girl again, despite making sure to pass by the shrine every day on his way home.

Shido pushed through his front door, shouting out to his sister, Kotori, that he was home, and kicking off his shoes. Sometimes the eternal absence of his parents bothered him. Were they really that busy?

Eager to ditch his sopping wet clothes, Shido beelined towards the shower, tucked away in the bathroom at one corner of the house. He scrabbled out of his uniform, grabbed a towel, and made to open the translucent shower door.

Tohka, completely naked with her back turned, peeked over her shoulder at the sound of the sliding door. Her face twisted with horror.

Shido squealed, unable to form an actual word, as he stood, frozen.

"Get out of here, right now!" Tohka shot out an open palm slap, throwing Shido onto his behind. He tumbled to the door, and as soon as he stopped, he bolted out of the bathroom, his towel wrapped around his waist.

He quickly donned a pair of blue trunks, and went to the lounge to confront Kotori. "Kotori! What's going on? Why is Tohka here?!"

Kotori leant back and looked at her brother, her head upside down over the couch's backrest. "Hey, bro! How was school?" she asked, putting on her innocent 'little sister' voice.

"Oh, thanks, it was pretty good! Tohka and I-" Shido stopped himself. "Don't change the subject! Tell me what Tohka's doing in our house!"

"Well, I decided that she should live with us! At least, for the time being," she answered, waving around a bright pink lollipop.

"Okay…?" Shido made a face. "Mind telling me why?"

Reine Murasame, previously silent up until this point, chimed in from the modest kitchen, just across the room, "We have a good reason for this, chill."

"Reine? What are you doing here?"

Nat popped up from behind the counter, his scraggy, black mop even messier than usual. "I am also here."

"Hinata?! What next, is Kannazuke gonna fall out of the ceiling tiles?!"

Shido was sure he heard a scream, followed by a sudden **CRASH** as Kannazuke fell through the ceiling and into the dining table. "Y-you rang…?"

Shido shook his head, dispelling the thought, leaving just Reine and Kotori once more.

The woman took a seat at the table, beckoning for them to join her, before continuing. "It's about Tohka's aftercare."

"Aftercare?" Shido echoed, tilting his head.

"That's right. Fortunately, when she kissed you, her Spirit Mana was immediately and effectively sealed." Reine traced a line in the air between her cup of coffee and Shido's. "Now, there is an invisible road – what we call a 'Path' - between the two of you."

"Okay," Shido started, fairly sure he was following along, "what's this thing about a seal?"

For this one, Kotori chimed in, "I explained that to you after it happened." She rested her chin on the bridge she'd made with her arms. "When you kissed Tohka after raising her mood points, you, in particular, were able to absorb her Spirit powers and seal them."

"Then, why do I alone have that kind of power?" Shido asked.

"I...don't know," came Kotori's solemn answer. "I just got lucky and figured it out...with Ratatoskr's help."

"May I?" Reine put a hand between them, bringing Shido's attention back to herself. "If the Spirit's mental condition become unstable, there is a significant probability that the power sealed inside of you will return back to her."

Shido thought for a long moment. "You said before that I was the only long-term solution you had. That Sam was only a temporary thing. Is this what you meant?"

Kotori nodded. "Mmm. Sam can't seal a Spirit like you can."

Shido scratched his head. "I don't know… Sam got shot because of me. Origami got hurt because of me. Maybe I'm not cut out for this…"

To his surprise, it was Reine who leaned over to console him. She placed a hand on his drooped head and gently smoothed his hair. "It's going to be okay. You're great at what you do, and you've got everyone's full support."

Shido lifted his head, then did his best to return Reine's kind smile.

"Now, our results are conclusive. Tohka's mental condition is most stable around you. Sam is second, but obviously…"

"I get it."

"In light of this, until the special housing unit for Spirits is completed-" said Reine.

"-she's living living with us, bro," Kotori finished, giving a cheery wink.

"Right, I think I understand," Shido replied.

"This isn't a bad thing," said Kotori. "Think of it as part of your training."

"Y-you mean, I wasn't finished? Tohka's powers are already sealed. What else am I supposed to do?"

Subtly, Kotori shook her head. "Did I say Tohka was the only Spirit around? There are more out there."

"A lot more, in fact," Reine added. "Special Designation Disaster Beings, or Spirits. They come in all shapes and sizes, just like us."

Shido held the back of his neck and averted his gaze. "I…"

"We want you to continue speaking with them, Shin. We need you to become even better...no. The _world_ needs you to become even better at dealing with women."

"Great, no pressure at all!" Shido got up, planting his hands onto the table. "But, I still don't get why I have to live with Tohka!"

At that moment, Tohka appeared through the open door to the lounge, dressed in a loose, blue tracksuit, her eyes downcast. "I…I apologise, Shido. I knew it. I shouldn't be here, after all."

"No, you're fine. I'm a jerk," Shido quickly apologised, embarrassed for lashing out.

"Are you sure you're not mad at me?" Tohka mumbled.

"I'm sure. Just a little overwhelmed, is all," Shido assured, walking over to give Tohka another gentle pat on the head.

* * *

Shido flopped onto his bed, thoroughly exhausted. Another day with Tohka, another day of Kotori's stupid pranks, another day of getting hit in the head by a very angry Spirit. He sunk into his mattress, the spring twilight already well underway, taking any hopes of a sunny evening with it. At least he was safe in his room.

"That girl," he whispered to himself, "why was she so sure I was going to hurt her? And how come I haven't seen her again, since?" His mind flooded with images of that look. The look of pure, abstract fear. "And, for that matter, why is she sticking in my head like this?"

The boy turned over onto his back and faced the ceiling. His room was sparsely decorated, with a solitary double bed, bookshelf and desk making up almost all of it. Atop the desk was a futuristic-looking monitor, as well as various cups and plates that he hadn't cleaned. He reached for his phone, and traced his finger over the dormant screen, debating whether or not to call someone. _"Who would I even call?"_ he thought. _"Kannazuke? Hinata?"_ He thumbed the phone for a little while longer, before deciding to just get some rest, futilely preparing for the next day of craziness.

* * *

The school's clock chimed mid-day, and as the dark sky promised more rain to come, Tohka thrust her desk next to Shido's, shouting his name as she did so. "It's time for lunch!"

On the other side of him, Origami did the same, the two girls glaring at each other over Shido's attention.

"Why are you here, witch? You're not welcome," Tohka huffed.

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing," Origami retorted.

Shido put his hands up to shush the two. "Can't we all just eat together?" he cried, glancing between them.

Despite the grumbling and quarrelling, both girls sat down and retrieved their lunch, Shido's and Tohka's looking far too similar for Origami's liking. She glared.

Tohka noticed and, mouth full, said, "What? Stare all you want; I'm not sharing."

Origami ignored Tohka and asked Shido, "Excuse me, what is that?"

The boy panicked and quickly came up with a lie. "Uh, the thing is...this morning, Tohka and I bought our bentos from the same place! I bumped into Tohka while she was there."

Hot off the heels of Shido's lie, Origami held up his box's lid. "Liar! You bought this one-hundred and fifty-four days ago at the discount store in front of the station for fifteen-eighty Yen. You've been using the same container ever since. This is not from the bento shop."

Shido blinked twice. "And... _how_ , exactly, do you know this?"

"Irrelevant. Tell me why you're lying."

"Uh, don't leave me out of the conversation like that, it's rude," Tohka interrupted. "What are you talking about?"

Caught between the two girls' stares again, Shido wanted nothing else but to just shrink away and hide. Perhaps fortunately, perhaps unfortunately, something else came to do the trick.

A long, rising, droning tone filled the school's halls, followed shortly by the warning Shido new all-too-well.

**YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. THERE HAVE BEEN PRECURSORY SIGNS OF AN IMPENDING SPACIAL QUAKE IN THIS VICINITY. PLEASE EVACUATE TO THE NEAREST SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. I REPEAT…**

Origami briskly stood up and left, making for the hallway. Shido watched her go, fully aware of where she was headed. Then, within moments of Origami's exit, Miss Okamine burst through the other door, shouting and waving her arms, instructing everyone to follow her to the shelter. Really, she was the only one panicking, despite her telling everyone else not to panic. Shido helped Tohka pack her lunch away, before they joined up with the other students in the hall.

Before they could move off to the shelter, however, Reine stopped him. "Shin, listen, we're going to leave Tohka with them. You need to come with us to the Fraxinus."

Shido hesitated. "You want to leave her behind?"

"Yes. Remember, her powers have been sealed, so, she's the same as a normal human girl." Tohka tried to peer over the crowd of students in front of her, but she couldn't manage it at her slightly less-than-average height. "Besides, seeing a fight could raise her anxiety. Any negative mood swing puts the Path at risk. We can't afford that."

"That's true," Shido agreed, if not entirely convinced.

"Tohka, Shido, Miss Murasame!" Okamine yelled as she ran toward them between the crowd of students. "Why are you dawdling back there? If you don't hurry up and evacuate, you're gonna be in serious trouble and serious danger!"

Shido took the woman's hand, stopping her in her tracks, and placed Tohka's hand in her grasp. "Miss Okamine," Shido started, thankful beyond words that she seemed to have forgotten their conversation during his training, "will you take care of Tohka, for me?"

"Wh-what? Of course!" the little lady replied. "I'll keep an eye on her."

"Shido?" Tohka asked, worried.

"Hey, Tohka, I need to leave you here, okay? Something just came up, but I'll be right back."

"No way!" she protested. "It's dangerous, isn't it?"

Shido let go and made to dash away. "I promise, I'll be okay. Just stay with them." With that, he and Reine took off down the hallway in the opposite direction.

"Shido, get back here! You too, Miss Murasame! Where do you think you're going?!" Tamae squawked.

"Oh, Shido…" Tohka held her hand close to her heart.

* * *

**Squeak-thwap! Squeak-squeak-squeak-thwap-thwap!**

Hinata bounced on the balls of his feet, sending sure, strong punches into the sandbag.

**Thwap-thwap-thwap!**

The bag shook with every impact.

**Squeak-squeak-thwap!**

His trainers glided over the gymnasium's lacquered floor.

"Yah-tah!" he yelled, driving his fist into the bag. A thousand memories flooded his mind. A million images filled his head. Sam staggering and falling. "Yah-tah!" **Thwap!** The shot ringing out. "Hi-yah!" **Thwap!** The spray of blood. "Come-on!"

**THWAP!**

Nothing.

Try as he might, Nat couldn't bring forth the power that saved Sam's life. There was no static in his stomach. No prickling under his skin. No buzzing in his ears. He leant his forehead against the bag and started to sob, his body subtly quaking with each pockmarked breath. His muffled tones bounced around within the empty hall. The feel of Sam's icy skin lingered under his fingertips.

He wanted so desperately to draw on that power.

Closing his eyes, Nat brought the memory of that first training session to the forefront of his mind. He tried to envision his movements. That natural ebb and flow of his body. Had that been the same power?

He adopted a stance, now emulating Sam's position: wide, low, versatile. He imagined the world around them: trees, sky, grass that nipped his ankles. The gym around him faded away. His ears filled with chirping and rustling.

Sam's form enveloped the bag, gesturing for him to bring his best. She smiled and winked, then mouthed something Nat couldn't hear.

Renewed, Nat threw himself forward, sending a flurry of jabs into Sam's guard. A left hook bounced off her arm. A right uppercut grazed her chin.

"Where's that fire in your eyes, Nat?! I'm not even feeling this!" Sam's voice rang out.

Nat bared his teeth and charged.

**THWAP-THWAP-THWAP!**

His hands were numb, but he kept going, sending punch after punch after punch into her, but he just couldn't wipe that grin off her face.

Striking a spark in his heart, Nat brought his arm back and aimed for Sam's stomach. He clenched his fist so hard it shook. The world fell away once more. His body buzzed with power. "Don't you dare...mock... _me!_ " With a deafening cry, Nat's fist blasted forward, his rage transforming into a streak of yellow and black that shrouded his body. He twisted his hips, pushed with his feet, and drove with his soul.

**BANG!**

Nat sent the bag flying into the back wall, yellow lightning leaping from his hand. There it was, at last. The static in his stomach. The buzzing in his arm. The prickle under his skin. Nat could finally feel hope welling inside him. The same hope that saved Sam's life. The fire of hope in his eyes.

"Don't you dare mock me, Sam. I'm not that far behind you, any more."


	10. Hermit

-Chapter 10, Hermit

Both Kotori and Kannazuke turned their heads to the sound of the sudden arrival of Shido who, huffing and puffing, stated, "I'm here..." as the doors behind him closed, Reine following along at his right flank. Aboard the bridge, thrown up on the main screen, the four stared at the aftermath of this most recent spacial quake. Shido recognised the crater as being in one of the more urban areas in town and had eradicated an entire block of stores and warehouses.

Kotori nibbled at the end of her thumb. "Hmm...Kannazuke, wouldn't you say this one was a little bigger than usual?"

He tapped at his handheld – a device similar in design to the thin, translucent displays of the crew's stations – and retrieved an image from a month prior. He studied it intently. Despite still being smaller than Princess', there was evidence to suggest it was larger than average for this Spirit. "I'm inclined to agree. Perhaps Hermit has undergone some abnormal emotional stimuli?"

Without taking his eyes of the screen, Shido tilted his head a little towards Kotori. "'Hermit'?" He asked.

"The name of the Spirit that's appeared this time." The footage zoomed in past the borders of the crater to focus on the newly-arrived girl. "She's known for being more docile than the other Spirits we've seen." The camera zoomed again, this time showing an ever-so-slightly sorrowful expression on a soft, rounded face, with the lingering dregs of what could have been wistfulness keeping her mouth neutral. Shido took in the girl's clothes: a green, patchwork coat, reminiscent of a rabbit with button eyes and a fluffy tail…

"I've seen this girl before!" Shido exclaimed, his mind flashing back to the girl at the shrine.

Kotori wheeled round, stunned. "Where and when?!"

"I met her outside the shrine. It couldn't have been more than a few days ago."

"We were already tracking her by then," said Kannazuke, checking his handheld and pulling up some readings. "But there were no disruptions of her main Spirit-wave numbers at that time."

"So, it's just like Tohka? Showing up without a quake is getting unnervingly-common..." She bit her fingernail in thought. "Cou-"

She was cut off by the AST's inevitable attack on the Spirit. Five of them, all wielding large rotary cannons and spraying a hailstorm of proximity fuse shells down into the crater. They lit up the Spirit within, launching smoke and dust high into the sky. However, attacks ineffective, the Spirit burst forth from the cloud of ash and took off into the sky, blowing past the AST's airborne position and arcing away. Origami and the rest of the unit lit up the sky, struggling to lead the Spirit in order to land a hit. She arched and weaved through the air, spiralling around the AST's wall of lead and death.

"How can they fire on a little girl?!" Shido demanded.

Kotori rested her head on her arm, closely following the action on-screen. "What she looks like doesn't matter to the AST."

"She's trying to run away!" Shido countered. "What they're doing is wrong!"

"There's no use in feeling sorry for her without doing anything about it, you know," Kotori shot, goading him on.

He glared at the screen. The girl's flight rocked under stress. She cried out, unable to evade the unending volume of fire. The AST's shots crept closer and closer. How long before a direct hit? How long before she was sent, tumbling, to the broken floor beneath? How long before they could move in to finish the girl off? How long-

"Kotori!" Shido tore his eyes away and nodded to his sister. "Let's do it. I wanna go save that girl."

"Alright, that's what I like to hear, now get going to the teleporter. The rest of you, listen up! Prepare for a type-one capture!" Kotori flourished her arm toward the rest of the bridge crew, smiling to herself. "I think it's about time for another date."

* * *

Kannazuke, predictably, found Hinata in the Fraxinus' gymnasium. In fact, Kannazuke was sure that he hadn't actually seen Nat anywhere else for the past five days. "Hey, kid!" he shouted out, getting the boy's attention. "You're up."

Nat cocked his eyebrow. "A Spirit? Already?"

"Mm-hm." With that, he took off to let the boy prepare himself.

And prepare himself he did. Closing his eyes, he took in long, ragged breaths and quelled his heartbeat, willing the rush of adrenaline in his body to subside. He could still feel the crackle in his knuckles. The spark in his wrist. The jolt in his soul. It was...electrifying. With a stern expression and a sure nod of the head, Nat steeled himself. "Alright. No sweat. Just feel that energy, Nat. You've got this." He hopped on the spot, psyching himself up, rolling his neck, wrists and shoulders. "You feel great! You can win! You. Can. Do. Thi-"

"Are you done?" Kannazuke peeked his head through the door, catching Nat in the middle of his pep talk, then made a show of tapping his wrist. "Clock's ticking."

Nat flinched and hastily tore off his gloves, barged past Kannazuke, and headed for the ship's teleporter, all the while too embarrassed to look up at the man.

Kannazuke chuckled to himself as he watched the boy leave. _"You'll do great, kid. Just have some confidence."_

* * *

The sound of the AST's guns weren't just a conventional **rat-tat-tat**. No, the weapon that Origami clutched in slick, rain-soaked hands spat a whirring **BRRRRRT** as it laced the sky with explosions. In the cavalcade of hellfire from her and her squad, it was only a matter of time before shots started to clip their mark, sending the Spirit careening into a deserted department store, smashing through one of the windows and vanishing inside its shadowy interior. Origami grunted and halted the rest of the squad, cursing inwardly for outfitting them all with long-range firepower. "This is Master Sergeant Tobiichi of Strike-One. Requesting permission to pursue target designated as 'Hermit' inside the complex." She waited a moment for the reply, before, again, cursing inwardly. "Yes, Ma'am." She cut comms to HQ and switched channels to her squad, glancing around at their hovering silhouettes. "Strike-One, set up a perimeter around the building. Cover as many exits as you can!" she barked. "It's not getting away, this time."

* * *

Unbeknownst to her, the Spirit wasn't the only living thing within the tower of concrete. Shido and Hinata, both laying low, struggled to make out anything in the building's shattered state. The errantly flickering lights threw stark shadows of mannequins up against the thin haze of dust that clung at their throats, then quickly faded as dark overtook the room once more. Under the muffled cacophony of gunfire and distant explosions, Nat opened his mouth to speak.

"It's pretty spooky in here," he murmured.

Shido shot him a glance and was about to make a retort when, with a flash of light, he noticed the boy's quaking form. To that, Shido gave a reassuring smile. "Hey, Hinata. We're gonna be fine."

Nat's eyes nervously flicked between Shido and his trembling fist. "I-I'd feel a lot more comfortable right now if I had any kind of control over my power..." he sighed, his mouth clammy and dry.

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Shido conceded with an honest nod.

"R-really?"

"Yup. Remember that kiss with Tohka?"

Nat did, but if he was being honest, he was far too concerned with Sam to piece together much of what happened. "Vaguely. Why?"

Shido shook his head. "I had no idea that was gonna work. If it hadn't...you, Sam, Tohka, me… We'd all be dead."

Nat crept closer, lips parted slightly. "Then...how did you do it?"

Shido shrugged. "Hell if I know. I just...had faith."

"Faith?"

"Yeah. Faith in myself, sure, but – more importantly – I had faith in my little sister. In Kotori."

The lights flickered. Splayed over Shido's face was an expression of distant longing. For what, Nat had no idea, but the words did resonate with him, if just a little bit. "R-right. I'll try."

Shido gave him a friendly look. "Come on, let's go find that Spirit, _Nat_."

Brightening at Shido's use of his preferred name, Nat's lips clamped shut into a returned grin, as if to say: "Right behind you, bud."

**SMASH!**

Their exchange interrupted, the two snapped their gazes into the dreary haze toward the source of the noise. A moment later, the faint **crinkle-crunch** of broken glass echoed throughout the room, followed again by the scuff of something falling.

"What the hell?" Nat whispered, bringing his fists up and body round.

"Kotori? Was that…?" Shido asked.

"Yup. Looks like Hermit just crash-landed on your floor," Kotori confirmed, nervously eyeing up the AST's formation.

"Alright, we're going in." Shido skulked forwards, futilely trying to pick out the girl through the choking shadows. Outside, the roar of combat had thankfully subsided, and Shido found his mind revisiting the encounter with Tohka in the school. _"As long as we stay in here, we might be safe. Unless Tobiichi's out there. She'd definitely risk it."_ Caught up in his own thoughts, Shido stumbled and tripped over the prone form below him. He yelped as he fell, causing the Spirit to spring up in horror. She faced Nat who, stunned, threw his hands up in surrender.

The Spirit's eyes widened as she backpedalled, before having her legs swept out from under her by the recovering Shido, and falling flat on her back, letting out a winded gasp. The two boys were sharing worried glances when a voice came up from the darkness.

"Everyone's bullying Yoshinon today! Can't you just leave me alone?!" it whined.

They looked down at the girl, but it wasn't the girl speaking. Instead, it was the small, white rabbit puppet shrouding her left hand – that apparently needed an eyepatch over its right eye – talking.

"E-excuse me?" Shido stuttered, dumbfounded.

Still attached to the girl's hand, the puppet hovered closer, combing over Shido with one beady, red, little eye. "Hang on...you're the boy from the shrine! Why are you following me?" it demanded.

A familiar scene played out before the bridge crew of the Fraxinus. A Spirit asking a question, a boy moving to answer, a list of choices appearing on-screen. Again, Shido was stopped by Kotori as they all panned over their options:

1) "My name is Shido. I've been following you...to give you a better life."

2) "Following you? No, you've been following me! So, spill it. You're interested, aren't ya?"

3) "Whatever do you mean? I'm just a wandering vagabond!

"Talk to me, people!" Kotori called out, flaunting her lollipop at the screen. "Name your choice!"

Mikimoto was first. "Come on! It's gotta be two! This one's straight out of a dating sim!" He flashed a grin of self-assured victory. "Turn the question around, put her on the spot, then appeal to her true desires!"

Minowa gave a look of disdain at her colleague's display. "That's risky if you don't know the other person's personality-" Mikimoto made to interrupt, but Minowa cut him off before he could say anything, " _And_ I'm not entirely convinced we're talking to the girl. Perhaps we're talking to the puppet. In that case, option one is our best bet."

"You're talking about a talking, independently-sentient puppet," said Kawagoe, raising an eyebrow at the woman.

"In her defence, we _are_ talking about magical creatures," Nakatsugawa reminded.

"I don't need your defence. I'm perfectly capable on my own!"

"Even so-"

"Surely then, option two-"

"Hang on, all-"

"Everyone shut up!" Kotori yelled, her voice silencing the bickering crew. "We're going with option three, considering none of you can decide between options one and two!" She slammed a finger into one of the many buttons on her armrest. "Shido, go with option three!"

Shido, glancing nervously between the doll and the still-recovering girl, questioned, "Are you sure about that? She's still pretty banged-up. Little tasteless to be cracking jokes right now, no?" At the same time, he quietly gestured for Nat to retreat back and out of view. Nat nodded and did so, disappearing into the darkness.

"Come on, the best we can do is make them laugh and try to cheer them up. And, don't you know someone who would talk like that."

With a grimace, Shido replied, "Tonomachi..." then stood up straight and let out a deep breath. The next moment, he dramatically brushed the hair out of his face and proclaimed, "Whatever do you mean? Me? Why, I'm just a wandering vagabond!"

It took a second for any kind of reaction from the puppet, but when it finally came, Shido was glad to know it responded by throwing its head back and laughing. It drew closer, stopping just in front of Shido's face, bringing the Spirit up onto her feet along with it. "You're trying to make me laugh, aren't you? Nobody talks like that seriously!" the puppet chortled.

From this up close, Shido could make out more of the puppet's details, such as the Jester-like ruffle around its neck, or the deep black button that made up its eyepatch. "Well, I'm glad you liked my joke." Shido paused to let the puppet speak, but when he realised it wasn't going to, he awkwardly continued. "So, my name's Shido. You are…?"

"Oh, how embarrassing!" it quickly replied. "I can't believe I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Yoshinon! Ain't it cute, ain't it cute?"

"S-sure. Yeah, it's cute." Shido pointed a finger between the girl and her puppet. "So, is that your name, or the name of the puppet? Do you guys share a name?"

Like a pin, Yoshinon's expression dropped, along with a frustrated "Ugh…"

Kotori's spine straightened with panic at the new, blaring report scrolling across the main screen. "Shido! What are you doing down there? Her happiness just took a nosedive, and it wasn't exactly _high_ already!"

"What? Nothing, I swear. I was just trying to find out why she only talks in ventriloquism," Shido answered, feeling hurt at his sister's accusations. However, when he looked back at the puppet, he quickly realised why Kotori was distressed.

"I do not kno-o-ow what you are talking about, _Shido_. What is 'ventriloquism'?" it rasped, bearing over Shido with its one red eye glowing fiercely. It was almost as if the shadows themselves hung over the girl's face, too. The boy could no longer make out any of the soft, cute details that he'd seen earlier. Shido took a step back.

"Look, we'll figure out the cause of this later. For now, just focus on making her happy again."

Now taking a more metaphorical step back, Shido sighed and took it from the top, if not still slightly shaky. "Right, yeah. I get your point. Yoshinon's just Yoshinon! Is that it?"

Thankfully, that subdued the Spirit's puppet, and the bright light in its eye faded. "Oh, Shido… You're one of those people who jokes around a lot, aren't you?" It searched his face. "Why did you come here?"

"Oh! Because...well, I know it's sudden, but will you go out on a date with me?" Slipping into a similar format as before, Shido suddenly found himself acting more confidently.

This seemed to give both the puppet and the girl pause, as despite the Spirit never talking, she always at least seemed focused behind those eyes. Now, in thought, they became a little more glossy. "A... _date_?" Yoshinon mumbled.

* * *

"That's it, Sam! Keep it up!" Mio encouraged, ducking and weaving between Sam's punches. One, in particular, she sidestepped, and prepared to bring her elbow down. Sam, unsurprisingly unwilling to fall for that again, allowed her body to follow after the punch, taking her out of elbow-range and into a neat tuck-and-roll that left her on her feet. Mio grinned appreciatively. "Nice moves, kid. I did hope that wasn't going to work twice."

Sam brushed herself off, her hands flattening the creases in her T-shirt. "Hey, don't underestimate me! You're not so tough, yourself, you know!" She waggled a finger at the Spirit, before coming at her again. One-two! Left-right! Mio caught, blocked, or dodged the majority of Sam's punches, but she'd be lying if she said they didn't connect on occasion, such as right now. Sam threw a reserved uppercut into Mio's guard, purposefully bringing it high, then span ninety degrees and kicked out with her right foot. Mio span to avoid it, but couldn't stop herself before being clobbered by Sam's approaching elbow. Flipping over, she smacked her head against the tiling beneath them, cracking it in half. In the confusion, she collided into Sam's legs and, due to her still being off-balance from the kick, she collapsed on top of the Spirit. Stunned, the two locked eyes, before Sam hastily clambered off. "I-I am so sorry!" she spluttered.

The Spirit wearily giggled and rubbed the back of her head. "'Sorry for whacking you with a dirty move' or 'sorry for falling on you and grabbing your chest'?"

Sam's cheeks reddened as she flared up. "I-it's not like that!" she stammered.

Mio picked herself up and cocked her hip to the side, an unconvinced look on her face. "Uh-huh?"

"It's not like I..." Sam struggled to find the words, "swing that way! And it wouldn't be fair on Nat!"

Mio sauntered closer, a smile playing over her lips. "Sure thing, Sammy." Sam gulped at the sudden proximity of the girl, not to mention the playful way she said her name.

"Wh-what are you doing?" In stark contrast to the warm rush of blood to her face, an icy shiver bounced down the girl's spine. Her eyes flittered to any corner of her vision that wasn't covered by Mio's gaze.

She traced Sam's cheek with a dainty finger. "You know, I'm really proud of you, Sammy. You're getting better and better at keeping up with me every day! You don't even need your armour, either," Mio whispered, moving her lips dangerously close to Sam's ear. She could feel the Spirit's hot breath on her neck, making head dizzy. "So strong...quick... _brave_. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were _fa-a-ar_ more capable than me with my own power."

The sing-song way she let words hang in the air completely tore down Sam's defences, while her own words could do nothing but lull in her mouth. It was only when Mio put a hand on her chest did Sam react. She snatched the Spirit's wrist, her face twisting. "Don't. I've had enough of your games."

Mio sighed and took her hand away, then her whole body. "I'll admit I may have pushed too far, sure, but I don't buy that 'I don't swing that way' excuse for one second, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," Sam replied, brushing off the comment and clenching her fists. "Now, you gonna send a real attack my way? Or are you just going to keep toying with me?"

Mio chuckled. "You're on, girl."


	11. The girl of ice

-Chapter 11, The girl of ice

Flanked on all sides by unfamiliar walls and cold, heartless warnings, Tohka looked to Miss Okamine for any kind of support, her hands buried in her lap and her back arched with worry. "Do you think it's really all that dangerous outside?" Tohka asked, struggling to keep a strained warble out of her voice.

"There's no telling how dangerous it is!" Tamae replied. "But, with a spacial quake, it's not worth the risk!"

Across the way, Ai, Mai, and Mii turned their attention to the troubled Tohka. "Seriously?" Ai started. "Tohka doesn't know about spacial quakes?"

"Maybe she's like a spoilt super-rich girl?" Mai offered.

"That's so lame," Mii added.

Tohka's face hardened. "Miss Okamine, why do you think Shido would leave during such a dangerous time?"

The teacher's gaze fell away. "Honestly, I have no idea."

"You don't?" Tohka pressed.

"If she's planning on trying to save him, she's either brave or stupid," said Ai.

"I hope she knows what she's doing," came Mai.

"That's so...lame?" finished Mii.

Unable to keep her own tone calm, and with her body language pulled inward, Okamine assured, "Well, I'm sure Shido will be perfectly fine. There's really nothing to worry about, Tohka, you'll…" Tamae gasped as she finally looked up again. Tohka was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Origami perked up as she heard a woman's voice flood into her ears. "This is master sergeant Tobiichi. I'm receiving you."

The woman on the other end of the transceiver was none other than captain Kusakabe herself, suspended on a crutch under one arm. "Realiser treatment sure is something, huh?"

"Captain?" Origami held one hand up to her headset, as if to make sure she wasn't hearing things. "You're up already?"

"Well, I won't be combat-ready for a few more days," she guiltily admitted, "but they told me you were out on a mission when I came to, and, of course, I had to see how you were doing." She slowly lowered herself down onto one of the many chairs in the AST's mission control room; an area not unlike the Fraxinus' bridge. She propped the crutch against the desk and brought the displays to life. "I can monitor more of the squad from here than you can, so you just focus on doing your thing, and I'll do my thing."

"Understood, captain. It's good to have you back," Origami replied, no small part relieved to be released of IC duties.

* * *

The puppet seemed genuinely engrossed in thought while it digested the question, but before it answered, a question of its own popped into its head. "Shido, before I answer that, would you mind telling me something first?"

"Of course! What did you want to know?" Shido replied, forming an enthusiastic smile.

Suddenly, its eye locked on to the seemingly-empty darkness. "Who's that?"

Nat gulped as he felt the piercing gaze shoot straight through him. Did it really know he was here?

Sub-consciously, Shido too glanced behind himself – a gesture that Yoshinon did not miss. "I-I don't know what you're-"

"Don't," Nat interrupted, stepping forth from the shadows with his hands up in surrender – the second time in five minutes – making sure to be in plain view of the Spirit's stare. "No point in lying. We're all friends here."

The puppet, unconvinced, hovered closer. "Hmmm. Why…"

"Hinata. Call me Nat."

"Why, Nat, did _you_ come here?" it demanded, scanning the boy up and down.

Nat managed his best disarming expression. "It's really nothing to worry about, I promise. I'm just here to keep this guy safe," came his answer along with a jerk of the head toward the wary Shido.

The puppet seemed confused. "Safe from what?"

"Them." Nat thrust a finger behind and beyond the puppet. "The AST."

Yoshinon, seemingly light-years ahead of Tohka, understood immediately. "They'd hurt him, too?"

"Yes, if we're not careful," Nat conceded, slowly letting his hands back down.

Once more, the puppet showed that it was far more savvy than the other Spirit they had encountered so far. "But, if you're really not a threat, then why did you hide yourself at first?"

However, Nat didn't have a response to that and, despite going to speak, his mouth just flapped uselessly. With an answer expected, an unlikely ally came to save the day.

"Hold on, Nat. I think we've got this." Kotori intently studied the three options displayed for all of the crew to see.

"I'm quite surprised that the choices even show up for Hinata," Kannazuke noted, also studying the given options while scratching his chin.

"Mmm, but as long as they do, we might as well make the best use we can out of them."

They made their decision and relayed the order back to the ground. A pragmatic approach seemed best.

"Ah, it's really quite simple," Nat began. "With all the commotion, we figured it'd be best not too bombard you with too many more strangers all at once." Nervously, Nat combed his hair between his fingers. While he wasn't lying, per se, it did seem suspicious.

Fortunately, the puppet bought it; its stiff demeanour faded. "Hahaha! Well, why didn't you say so!" it grinned, waving its short arms.

"Ahah...yeah… I guess I'm just not always as good with words as this one," Nat joked, bumping his elbow against Shido.

The puppet snorted.

"Hey! I like to think I did just fine, thank you very much!" Shido retorted.

"Sure, sure," came Nat and Yoshinon, before sharing a light chortle.

Angrily, Shido stamped his foot. "Hey, where do you get off laughing at me, huh?!" But, to his dismay, the outburst only brought more laughter his way. "I swear…"

* * *

After the banter subsided, the three of them went about exploring the store, Shido and Hinata for a way out, and Yoshinon for something to play with. Much to two-out-of-three's chagrin, Yoshinon stumbled across some kind of climbing frame before an exit. "Tell me what you think, am I cool or am I the coolest ever?!" The puppet hollered from the highest rung. The girl's body swayed slightly in order to stay balanced.

"Hey, wait! That's not safe," Shido reasoned, beckoning the Spirit to come down.

"'Hey, wait'," it mocked, folding its arms. "I asked if I was cool or the cooles-wuh, wah!" The girl's foot slipped and the two of them cartwheeled backwards. Shido and Nat glanced at each other for barely more than a moment, then broke off to catch them. Nat handily snagged the puppet out of mid-air, but Shido only managed to break the girl's fall with his own body. With a disgruntled "Urf!" he fell to the ground, loosely clasping the girl in his arms. For a heartbeat, they shared the embrace, her lips errantly upon his, before the Spirit stood up and brushed herself off, no more than a quizzical look on her face.

"Th- That was uh- I- um-" Shido stammered.

Unfazed, the girl turned to Nat as he returned the puppet. It was only when the puppet sank over the girl's hand did it start talking once more. It giggled, then lightheartedly chastised itself for being so careless. "Sorry about that, Shido! I wasn't paying enough attention." It then turned to Nat. "And, thanks for the catch! That was pretty cool!"

Nat let a smug grin play over his lips. "Well, I don't mean to brag or anything-"

"Shido! It's an emergency!" Kotori's voice came crying through the earpiece.

"She's not wrong!" Nat glanced nervously between Shido and the figure before him: a girl with long, purple hair and overflowing with a deep crimson flame.

"T-Tohka?" Shido quickly scrambled to face her.

Tohka's face seemed...shadowed, somehow. A thick shade that covered two glowing, enraged pupils. "Shido," she started with cold deliberation, "what were you doing just then?"

Nat slowly sidled up beside Shido, making sure to be the first in harms way in case Tohka lost it, before letting Shido speak. "What do you mean?" he asked. Then, the memory of the fall just a moment ago flooded his mind's eye, and he found himself bringing two fingers up to his lips in stunned silence.

"So, after you worried me half to death...you came here to make out with _her_?" Tohka turned to the girl in question, her body blazing with fury. "How _dare_ you!" Her right foot stamped down, expelling the ebb and flow of her power into the floor and forcing a spider's web of cracks rushing towards them. The shockwave echoed throughout the room several times over.

"See what I mean? You're looking at a rather unstable mental condition," Kotori cried, her voice hitching mid-sentence. "Her Spirit powers are gradually flowing back into her!"

Nat, rising onto the balls of his feet, warily watched Tohka as she strode towards them, her eyes still downcast and hidden, before violently jerking a finger at Yoshinon. "How rude!" Tohka whined. "Why didn't you tell me the 'something that came up' was meeting this weird looking little girl?!"

"Tohka, just calm down," Nat tried.

"Stay out of this!" Tohka snapped back.

Cutting ahead of Shido, the puppet bobbed closer. "Hello there, angry lady!" it sang.

"My name's 'Tohka'!" She roughly corrected.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news _Tohka_ , but it seems as though Shido's gotten bored with you." Both Shido and Tohka gasped. "Based on what you've already communicated, Shido stood you up to come here and hang out with me, instead! Isn't that right? I think that's fairly conclusive," it cackled.

"No! What are you talking ab-"

With tears in her eyes, Tohka pushed her hand over Shido's mouth and forced him back to the floor. "Shido, you shut your mouth right now."

"Mmm-kay…" came his muffled groan.

"I do apologise, though," said the puppet. "Being second best is never an easy thing, is it? It's because I'm so charming, not that there's anything wrong with you, Tohka." The puppet smiled as wide as it could. "But, it's not like you can really blame Shido for blowing you off so he could come and play with me! I am pretty adorable."

Tohka burst out crying. "No! Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut-up-shut-up-shut-up, this can't be happening! It can't be!" She screamed.

"You can scream all you want! But, you're about to hear the brutal truth! Go on, Shido, tell this poor thing she's not wanted anymo-"

Tohka snatched the puppet off the girl's hand, effectively cutting it off, then wrestled it high into the air by its neck. "I am wanted! You-you don't know! Shido was the one who said it was okay for me to stay here with him! Why are you lying to me and being so mean?! I won't take it any more!"

"Now hold on Tohka, I'm sure we can sort this all out," urged Nat as he grasped Tohka's shoulders.

Undeterred, Tohka continued to interrogate the now-lifeless thing. "Say something! Come on, why aren't you talking now?! Speak!"

Reluctantly, Hermit hid under her coat's hood and started tugging on Tohka's blazer, trying to draw her attention.

She shot a glance downward at the girl while simultaneously shrugging Nat away and demanding, "What's wrong? It won't talk! Make it talk!"

"I was trying to talk," the girl whispered, futilely trying to reach up and take back the puppet. "Give it back, please."

"What are you doing in there?!" Kotori shouted, leaning forward in her chair with concern; eyes locked onto the monitors. "Hermit's mental condition is all over the place, too. They need to calm down!"

Shido looked pleadingly up at Tohka. His voice was soft and understanding. "Hey, listen, Tohka. Could you, maybe, give that back to her, maybe?"

With a pained inhale, Tohka's tear-soaked eyes gazed back at the boy. "Shido...she was right. You really do like her better than me…"

"No, it's not that at all!"

"Tohka, give her the puppet," came Nat's stern voice.

"Why should I?!"

"Tohka!"

"Stay away from me!"

As Nat made to dash for the puppet, and Tohka made to flee, Hermit, who had still been struggling to grab Yoshinon, flexed her hand towards the sky and, with an ear-deafening screech, called, "Zadkiel!" The ground behind her shook, then burst forth a flurry of ice and mist, instantly freezing the walls and ceiling in a thin layer of sparkling permafrost. From within rose a giant hare with jagged teeth and demonic red eyes, easily fifteen feet tall, and towering over Shido, Tohka, Nat, and Hermit. When it roared, the sound was deep, guttural, rumbling. Its fur was white with craggy, black highlights

"Uh, what's that?" croaked Shido, still on his behind.

Hermit hopped away and mounted the beast's back, then pushed her hands into two glowing glyphs, essentially gripping the animal's reigns. It reared its head and, with another roar, sent forth a blizzard of battering cold. The onrush crashed over the three, sending Shido and Tohka staggering back, while Nat just barely clung on.

"Oh no! She's releasing her Angel!" Kotori shouted. "You have to get out of there, right now!"

"Her Angel?!" Shido spat, rubbing the pain on his head.

"Did you forget Tohka's Sandalphon?"

The sudden change in temperature, combined with the gale-force winds crashing into the buildings, shattered the windows around the room, letting the rain in all around. That rain then flash-froze in the mist and transformed into razor-sharp darts, gliding through the air like a thousand arrows.

"Watch it, you two!" Nat managed to block a fair number of them mid-flight, but Shido still got nicked on the arm as he dived to save Tohka, knocking the puppet from her grasp. What shards hadn't speared the ground around the three now surrounded the decidedly non-angelic Angel like some kind of natural barrier, fanning out and destroying the climbing frame, shelving units, and almost the cause of all of this in the first place: the puppet.

Shido held Tohka as best he could in his slack grip, both of them intently staring at the Spirit from behind what little cover remained. Nat, opposite them, couldn't help but stare at the puppet instead. If he could just get to it without being sliced up…

The rabbit turned tail and bounded toward the broken windows, each leap firing fissures into the concrete beneath its feet. It exploded out of the store, taking a bulk of the wall with it, and colliding into an unfortunate AST member, crushing her against the neighbouring wall. Caught off-guard, it took Origami and the rest of her unit a moment to open fire, but open up they did, filling the sky with explosions once more. In retreat, Zadkiel leapt away, hopping between buidings and ducking down alleyways.

KABOOM

An explosion slammed into its side, knocking the beast sideways. Yoshinon yelped with pain.

Back in the department store, Nat quickly scooped up the puppet and began to chase the Spirit, until his body halted at the edge of the fourteen-storey drop. Looking down, the fall seemed to stretch out, pushing the ground further and further and further away from him in a long, drawn-out pan. His foot started to bounce with nerves. Sweat lingered on his brow. A dizzying sensation clouded his vision.

"Hinata! What's going on?" Kannazuke demanded. His tone was forceful, but not harsh.

"I-I can do this, s-sir," the boy murmured.

"Do what?!"

Nat's mind flashed with memories. Sam's hand outstretched. The flash of power. The twisting bullet. He tried to remember all the missions she had been on. It wasn't many, but maybe it was enough. What would she do? His foot bounced faster. He recalled the encounter with Tohka at the school. A thousand images filled his head. Could he really emulate all that? Was he strong enough? Was he ready? Then, there she was! Flying down the road, bringing to bear all she could to protect the Spirit, delivering the puppet, then laying the smackdown on the AST, all while that infectious smirk clung to her lips. Nat just had to do that. He could, right? He had to.

"Hinata!" Kannazuke yelled.

"I'm going down there! I'll fill Sam's shoes! Just, watch me!"

"Wait! Kid!" But Kannazuke was too late. He could only watch as Nat flipped through the air, sailing toward the ground, eyes clamped shut with concentration. Kannazuke shook his head with disbelief. "He's gonna get himself killed!"

The rush of wind filled Nat's ears, but he pushed it aside. How long had he been falling for? That didn't matter, either. "Focus, Nat, focus! Find that power, then I can be like her. Then I can fill in for her. Then I can be there for her!" Nat's eyes snapped open. The shocking reality smacked him harder than he was sure the floor was about to. "I can't do this," he whimpered.

"One shot. One shot. One shot." The words Kyouhei Kannazuke repeated aloud as he watched the boy fall were the only thing grounding his judgement. A moving target. AST interference. A Spirit's power off the scales. He fought to line the numbers up. A thousand variables. A million chances to fail. Not yet.

"Kannazuke!"

Not yet.

"Kannazuke, push the button!"

Not yet.

"Push the damn button!"

He slammed his hand down, activating the teleporter a hair's breadth from the ground, all but guessing the dimensions, timing, and location of the teleporter's bubble, and giving himself as much margin as he could to align the figures. "Please..."

The crew waited...

..and waited...

..and waited...

"Confirmed transit. Subject successfully retrieved," Miizaki reported.

Kannazuke forced a breath between his chapped lips, suddenly going dizzy and collapsing into his chair, much to cheers from all around. He gulped down with relief.

Kotori couldn't help but grin. "When the hell did you learn how to do that?"

At first, Kannazuke didn't answer. Instead, he clumsily righted himself, then strode for the teleporter room, leaving just a few words in departure, "You underestimate me, commander."

* * *

"Nat!" Shido yelled, clambering to the edge of the window, looking down just in time to see a flash of familiar green light, and not see Nat's flailing self. "Oh, thank god," Shido breathed, pitching back onto his behind away from the window. Wearily, he massaged his temple, then looked back to Tohka.

The look Tohka gave back was...conflicted. She wasn't sure whether to be angry, sad, relieved. "Is he okay?" she mewled.

Shido whispered, "He is, right?"

"Yeah, Kannazuke caught him just in time," Kotori replied, seemingly having aged ten years by the sound of her voice.

Shido assured Tohka that Nat was okay and tried to give Tohka an apologetic hug, but was pushed away, stressing the nick from earlier and making Shido wince with pain. She gasped, but then turned away with a huff. "You like that little girl better than me! I know you do, so admit it!"

"Wait, what?"

* * *

From the teleporter room, Nat looked down at his trembling grasp. He slowly opened his palm, as if it would have made a difference on whether or not it was there. He had dropped the puppet. "God...damn...it…" Then, he passed out.

* * *

With an eruption of equal parts the AST's smoke and Hermit's mist, the Spirit vanished into thin air, returning to wherever she came and dooming the AST's mission to failure. With a heavy heart and irregular breath, Origami called a retreat of the troops back to base. But, before she herself took off back into the sky, a small object strewn onto the ground caught her eye, giving her pause. She moved to pick it up, her slick hands soaking the white fabric.


End file.
